To the Editor:
Nicholas Kristof fails to distinguish between Asian-American ethnic groups and to mention the huge variations in what those groups experience in terms of his chosen metrics of “success”—income and educational attainment. If he did, it might be more obvious that a “Confucian emphasis on education” explains naught about why we as a pan-ethnic group are “successful.”
American immigration policies and patterns of emigration in Asia have contributed to the influx of highly skilled and educated workers among some Asian-American groups, while patterns of stereotyping and discrimination have steered many Asian-Americans into pursuing higher education in STEM fields. Any cultural emphasis on education we might have is almost completely explained by these forces.
And that culture has little to nothing to do with Confucianism, as far as I can tell (having grown up in a Chinese-American household). Confucianism is a rich intellectual tradition—but one that I, like most Asian-Americans, know hardly anything about. It has precious little to do with our success.
CHRISTOPHER LEWIS
Stanford, Calif.
The writer is a J.D. and Ph.D. candidate in law and philosophy at Stanford University.
Note from KBJ: Confucius say, "Man who leaps off cliff, jumps to conclusion."
