AMERICAN STUDIES Spring 1990 Vol. 4, No. 1 CONTENTS DULLES' PEACE PHILOSOPHY AND HIS THEORY OF PEACEFUL CHANGE Huo Shiliang（7） Strong religious belief, Americans' sense of their mission in the world, the philosophie des lebens and the bourgeois legal view are the ideological sources of J.F. Dulles' philosophy of peace and his theory of peaceful change. In the postwar world, peaceful change has been a political strategy used by capitalism in its attempt to overthrow socialism. It has brought about problems and conflicts instead of peace; only peaceful coexistence is the guarantee for world peace. CHINA AND THE SUPERPOWERS Zhang Yebai（37） The most important factors determining the changes in China's relations with the two superpowers include strategic, economic and ideological factors, superpowers' China policy and the relationship between them. In the future, basis will still exist for a friendly and stable Sino-U.S. relationship, so will some major obstacles. Sino-Soviet relations will enter a new period of friendship on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence, though bilateral disputes will not disappear completely. ON CURRENT ARMS CONTROL TALKS Wu Zhan（58） Thanks to Soviet Union's willingness to make greater concessions, it will not be long before an agreement on strategic arms reductions is signed. NATO and WARSAW are likely to reach an agreement on conventional arms reductions in Europe as well. Both the United States and the Soviet Union have expressed willingness to ban and destroy chemical weapons. On the whole, one can be optimistic about the prospects of the US-Soviet arms reduction talks. VIEWS ON LEVERAGE BUY-OUT Chen Baosen（74） Leverage buy-out has led to huge wealth concentration and redistribution among the upper class in the United States and has become a matter of great concern. It was the characteristic of the new annexation wave in the 1980s. There are two completely different views on leverage buy-out and on whether the government should intervene. The negative effects of leverage buy-out have become more clear, but ways to deal with them are still in the process of endless debate. PUBLIC CHOICE THEORY: NEW AREAS FOR U.S. ECONOMIC THEORIES Zhang Jian（92） The public choice theory applies economic theories to the political decision making process. Starting from the assumption of the "economic man" and using the cost-benefit method of micro-economics, the theory analyzes the government behavior in the modern western democracies, pointing to its nonrational nature and concluding that "government has failed." The antithesis of Keynesianism and state interventionalism, the theory proposes systematic and constitutional reforms to effectively halt the unlimited growth of government. A COMMENT ON JOSEPH BOWING' DUAL COMPETITIVE THEORY Xiao Lian（113） Unlike traditional theories of competition which see competition occurring among identical firms, Bowing's dual competitive theory divides firms into core firms and periphery firms on the basis of their scales and market shares. Correspondingly, market competition occurs at two levels. Bowing's theory represents a development of traditional theories and is closer to economic reality. Still, with respect to the synergism of competition, the theory has neither raised nor solved the important questions regarding scientific methodology. SLAVE SONGS IN THE UNITED STATES Shi Xianrong（128） Slave songs in the United States had their roots in the ancient African culture. They developed through 3 stages, first as African music, then as American music and finally as a combination of black music and other kinds of American music. Slave songs expressed Afro-American feelings and aspirations about life and revealed the inner world of an ethnic group that was oppressed and discriminated against. Slave songs exerted a profound impact on the development of American culture. REALISTIC CHOICES: THE ADJUSTMENTS OF U.S. POLICY TOWARDS THE PHILIPPINES, 1981-1986 Liu Jun（140） U.S. policy during this period evolved from one of supporting the Marcos regime (1981-latter half of 1983) to one of pressurizing Marcos to start reforms (latter half of 1983-end of 1985) and to one of supporting the opposition (1986). Two factors were behind the adjustments: a desire to influence the democratization trend in the third world so that it will develop in the direction favorable to the West; and an urgent need to explore new ways to sustain unstable but pro-American regimes in light of reduced U.S. capabilities to intervene in the third world affairs. AMERICAN STUDIES, a quarterly, is published jointly by the Chinese Association for American Studies, and the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The content of the articles in this journal should not be construed as reflecting the views either of the Association or the Institute.