I would say, Silverboy, that you need to do a little more research in regards to face and its importance to certain cultures. Having spent a considerable amount of time in both Japan and China, I don't discount its value. I do agree that it is overused to a certain extent, but that doesn't necessarily diminish its worth.

In modern times, face has far more meaning and value in terms of how it can make a difference in business negotiations. Therefore, in that context, we're talking about reputation - very much like a person's reputation for honesty and forthrightness in the West. For you to say, therefore, that the whole concept of face needs to be eradicated is somewhat off the mark. Would you negate the value of reputation?

You also mentioned, in a previous post that a teacher challenged a student in class to prove his grammar competency. Big mistake in any culture. Why? Because peer acceptance is extremely important at that age. In that situation the teacher was forcing the student to show his ignorance to his classmates. In fact, if that teacher were in my employ, I would consider his lack of cultural sensitivity coupled with a lack of understanding of basic tenets having to do with teaching a second language, as grounds for dismissal. Yes, I'd fire him in a hot minute. In addition, aside from the concept of face, I wonder if said teacher even stopped to consider that the student may have been firmly grounded in English grammar, but may not have been properly instructed in grammar terminology in English. I would bet, based on my experience with Chinese college students and "English teachers" in China, that the student probably had a better grasp of grammar than did the teacher.

Nevertheless, and pardon the above digression, I haven't seen many examples, here or in Japan, of people using face or culture as an excuse for criminal acts, greed and incompetence as you assert. There are certain events that dramatically altered history that can be traced to the concept, but I think that a little beyond our scope in this forum. I have, however, recognized certain instances where the age old idea in China of coming out on top, instead of even, and definitely not bottom, in a business deal, can cause one to lose face. That's the reason the whole idea of "win win" has been introduced in China and is slowly taking hold. Meanwhile, I think we can be a little more forgiving of those whose absence of education has not allowed them to catch up. And, as Turino pointed out, we always have the option of not doing business with those who feel comfortable in trying to rip off foreigners.

Finally, and in the interest of brevity, though there certainly is a lot more that could be said on this subject, I personally would find it somewhat disturbing if face and all its diverse manifestations were eradicated as you hope. I find little in the way of a motivating force for "right actions" in China as it is. That is, without the concept of face I'm afraid there is not a strong enough moral base here where, generally, people don't give much of a damn about each other anyway. It would seem that the "Three Ways," Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are losing their influence in terms of fostering an understanding between right and wrong.