Global cultural dominance depends on a coolness ideology of individualistic defiance that China lacks

Evidence

China was also at a market disadvantage in that coolness—the exaltation of individualistic defiance as the supreme virtue—had yet to fully infect Chinese society the way it had in the West. Patriotism and communalism remained strong, often expressed through earnest traditional themes and wholesome group activities. While some disillusioned Chinese youth embraced an unambitious, tang ping (“lying flat”) lifestyle as a form of silent protest against status-obsessed society, even these acts of withdrawal had yet to result in the kind of countercultural, transgressive artistic expressions that resonate on a global stage. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 747

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘coolness’ as the exaltation of individualistic defiance, the load-bearing definition for the whole argument.
• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s stated goal of defending a counter-thesis against Marx — China’s case is a test of whether ‘coolness’ is a necessary condition for cultural dominance or a Western contingent value.
• QUESTION: Is ‘coolness’ being used here as a causal mechanism or as a re-description of outcome (Western countries dominate coolness AND have coolness ideology)? Worth probing for circularity.
• SHARE: The ‘tang ping’ lying-flat silent protest detail is worth sending to anyone interested in Chinese youth culture.