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China: the New Global High-Tech Power
Posted by
michael
on Fri Jul 12, 2002 10:08 PM
from the manpower-not-a-problem dept.
from the manpower-not-a-problem dept.
Andy Tai writes "This three-part news.com special report shows how mainland China has become the focus of high tech business opportunities during the global recession. The article compares today's China to 19th Century America as "a booming nation starved for products and driven by a new generation of entrepreneurs", points out China's "sheer numbers and ambitious work ethic are producing thousands of engineers--and U.S. companies are recruiting the best of them," and concludes "that this may eventually be known as China's high-tech century. " Another good article looking at China's rise as a global power can be found here."
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China's high-tech *century*? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The Bloody English (was: Re:China's high-tech) (Score:2, Interesting)
Anyway, back to persecution, so why they these people run to a country that was controlled by the British until 1901? The legacy of this is still apparent [cia.gov], see flag, see head of state.
Problem is... not being anti-British involves not being anti-English/Scottish/Irish/Welsh, you can't pick and choose.
China is lo-tech (Score:2, Flamebait)
How about getting the following the foundation for a high-tech economy?
1)-access to energy
2)-fair judicial system
3)-clean water
4)-enough food for its people
5)-uncorrupt governance
6)-educated people
7)-freedom of expression
No amount of friendliness towards business or incentives for technology will overcome these more basic barriers.
Re:China is lo-tech (Score:2)
Of course, it would be nice if the chinese government didn't forcibly kill unborn children as well.
Get with the Times Already (Score:4, Informative)
Of course, every time there is talk about China, someone has to bring up something about Human Rights. But give me a break, clean water? food? China has gotten past that stage a long time ago. Right now overnutrition and obesity troubles much of the population. As for the judicial system, fairness is a matter of opinion. In China, criminals are punished more severely than in the US. Corruption in the governance is a problem in China, but the same problem exists in every country. The USA, for example, is a prime source of governmental scandals. China is working on a more efficient education system as we speak. The problem with education lies in overpopulation. Think about it, China has more than four times the population of America, andd merely building more schools will not be able to solve the problem overnight. The curriculum in Chinese primary and secondary schools includes a much more in depth understanding of subjects such as math and science than that of American schools.
I guess my point is that although China's fundations are not yet perfect, it is getting better at a faster rate than any other country.
Parent
Re:Get with the Times Already (Score:4, Insightful)
China can best be described today as a fascist country, with the state and big industry inextricably intertwined. It has a secret police (gestapo equivalent) which has wide reaching powers. Individuals who are critical can find themselves executed and their organs harvested for use by those in power. The government is undemocratic and power succession is typical of these regimes... it is shrouded in secrecy.
Until China develops modern government, with respect for human rights including free speech and property rights, enforced by a minimally corrupt judicial system, and watched over by a free press, it is doomed to the fate of all such systems... increasing corruption, militancy and aggressive foreign policy, and poor economic performance.
Capitalism, in many variants, has been proven to be the most efficient economic system yet tried. Capitalism requires property rights; it requires a low level of corruption; it requires transparency; it requires freedom.
China is experimenting with state controlled capitalism - i.e. fascism - as opposed to its own total command economy. It is doomed to ultimately fail as an economic system as long as unelected officials can arbitrarily change the rules to their personal enrichment, backed by the power of a police state.
Parent
Re:Get with the Times Already (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Re:China is lo-tech (Score:2, Interesting)
How about getting the following:
2)-fair judicial system
5)-uncorrupt governance
7)-freedom of expression
The US seems to be doing well as a technology leader without the above traits. China will likely do even better than the US because they are more likely to cater to the big businesses than the US is (although the US government does do a good job whoring themselves out to big business).
In order to succeed (in big business) they would be better off with a corrupt government that had a slanted judicial system and the lack of freedom of expression. It works over here quite well.
Re:China is lo-tech (Score:2)
Question 2: Now that China has a fair bit of internet acess (OK, stop the Chineese SPAM server jokes) what technical knowlege are they without?
Iowa State may not be typical, but I would venture to say that over half of the Computer Science grad students here are from China/Taiwan. I wouldn't be suprised if the majority of CS professors in the US when our children attend university are from China. China may have inferior infrastructure compared to the US/EU, but they are neck and neck with us when it comes to technology. In the above post they have:
#6)-educated people
and That is all it takes.
Re:China is lo-tech (Score:4, Insightful)
Having so stated my assumption, now I just gotta respond to your points under its perverse and wicked influence:
access to energy
Yes, this is pretty essential -- to production, of course (who cares what the customer does with the damned thing after the sale is made?). I wonder if local generation in China is being explored? -- it's an idea being toyed with in America.
fair judicial system
What the hell does that matter? Your factory is setup with Chinese "partners" who will inevitably be a part of whatever local government and "law enforcement" that exists. If shoes and clothing can be produced by a class of people with no recourse to "fair" judgment, then so can many other things that are produced by assembly line.
clean water
What the hell does that matter? People filter water in America; just filter in what you need in China. Whatever the workers drink is their own problem.
enough food for its people
What the hell does that matter? There will be plenty more Chinese coming in from the rural areas to get the chance to work in your factory for money, which they imagine will help lift them out of poverty and possible starvation. It won't, of course, but people have always shown hope in that regard since the Industrial Revolution.
uncorrupt governance
This is probably a factor, but a minor one at that. Bribery is just another line item in your budget. After all, this the standard way that the oil business is conducted.
educated people
What the hell does that matter? Your cheap labor is ideal for Taylorist work arrangements. And any cheap labor that you feel the need to educate for specific reasons (hey we need an electrical engineer for this factory), simply can be educated and returned to China at a cheaper cost than hiring a First World skilled person. Education is highly overrated; craftsman skills themselves have been long obsoleted by factories.
freedom of expression
Ju-das Priest, where do you get these silly ideas anyway? The shoes and clothes you are now wearing have in all probability been produced by people who do without hope, disposable income, fresh air, nourishing food, and job security. Freedom of expression is just another opportunity for the workers to make trouble for the capitalist class that owns the methods of manufacture. Since it is not only unnecessary but harmful to the process of maximizing profits, it must be absent.
(Thank you for your attention. I had as good a time responding to your posting as I can ever have with my clothes on.)
Parent
Re:China is lo-tech (Score:2)
Come on! Our system wastes so much time and poeple filtering out jurors.
Juror filtering is silly, wasteful, and a sham.
If the outcome is 2 to 10, then have the judge call it. That way one to two outliers don't F the boat, and we don't have to waste so much time trying to keep them out.
AS-IS Juries.
Re:China is lo-tech (Score:2, Insightful)
Their most ambitious release ever! (Score:2)
I thought they would beat Mozilla 1.0 out the door - who would've thought the Lizard would have whipped it out first?
The one thing they lack is a legal system (Score:2, Flamebait)
Re:The one thing they lack is a legal system (Score:2)
I don't think anyone could call results in US courts assured. The results from the US courts are as wild and unpredictable as anywhere else.
The thing that mattered in the US was that, for a long time, people practiced a common sense philosophy and tried a lot harder to be fair an honest in their dealings. When the majority trying to understand and work within the system, it will work better than one where power players sit around and twist the rules to their ends.
Look at accounting and Wall Street. When the majority of accountants were trying to come up with figures that fit within the generally accepted definitions, then you had a situation where investors could glean a great deal of information about the health of the company from the books.
Today's MBAs and accountants seemed to have accepted the new economy (which is really a recycling of Kantian/Marxist thinking) and feel that that are appointed to dink and twist definitions to their ends.
The courts can't fix this system. The only way to fix the system is wait and hope that some day we will dump all the new agisms and get back to a market where accountants strive to use the same definitions, and not manipulate and change the definition of terms.
Sheesh (Score:2)
China is 10-20 years away from being a great power ... and always will be.
How many CENTURIES has this been predicted? Yes, China has a lot of people -- and always have had. Yes, China has a huge amount of wealth -- and always have had.
I think this has literally been predicted for a thousand freaking years. I'm not an expert on China, but obviously there are deep-rooted cultural attributes keeping them from expanding their influence in the world.
Wake me up next century when we make the same prediction that won't come true.
Should we launch a pre-emptive surprise? (Score:2, Flamebait)
___
Examples of Chinese Tech Innovation (Score:2, Interesting)
Indeed, I think Alex Chiu's insight can help shed some light on this topic. This is somewhat-lucid prose from his year-old /. interview:
"I think the Chinese government is doing a great job right now. I support population control. I think USA should do the same. If you want to have more than 1 kid, you should pay more tax. The enemies of China always use "human rights issues" to attack China. But if USA has 1.3 billion people, USA would have the same human rights problem just like China. You cannot expect so much freedom in a land of 1.3 billion people. Chinese government is doing such a great job that China not only feeds its own people, it also feeds most of the Russians. Most of the food imported to Russia came from China. You guys always talk about human rights. But why can't you guys mention about "government rights"? Chinese government has the right to do whatever it must do to protect China. That includes population control and the liberation of Tibet. Do you know that before Tibet was liberated, you can buy and sell slaves in Tibet? In the old Tibet, you can have slaves, you can marry 4 wives, but you cannot take a bath for 1 whole year, and you cannot meet a foreigner. You can skin your slave alive, and you can kill your slave when ever you desire. The entire Tibet is ruled by a bunch of religious idiots. You can't take a bath for the entire year, and you can't trade with foreigners. Cummunists don't allow that! Liberated Tibet and kick out that stupid Dalai Lama, whatever that moron's name is. You guys don't know how much Tibet has changed. Most families in Tibet now has electricity. TV, VCR, stereo, micro-wave, you name it. Everything's made in China! They have shopping malls and super markets there. There's stock market brokers there. In fact, Tibet is one of the most popular European tourist attraction of asia. If Dalai idiot is still around, you be buying and selling slaves there right now! Everywhere would stink like hell because nobody teaches you the importance of taking a bath. If you say Tibetans are not Chinese because they have their own language and culture, let me ask you this: Is Hawaii part of USA? Is Okinawa part of Japan? Okinawa people have different language and culture than the Japanese. So should Okinawa gain independence from Japan?"
Here is why Hi-tech is going to china (Score:3, Insightful)
Ignorant nerds! (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm Skeptical (Score:2)
Western Civilization and Japan
Eastern Orthodox rooted Civilization (Russia et al)
That's pretty much it. Everywhere else is developing.
Granted, it is theoretically possible for China to pull something like that off, but the government is the biggest hindrance. Until there is some serious reform (i.e. eliminate corruption), I don't see China catching up within the next 50 years.
BlackGriffen
A bit of (non)fiction (Score:4, Interesting)
China, over the next 40 or 50 years, becomes an enormous economic juggernaut. With cheap labor, high tech industry, and a huge population, China begins to develop most of the world's goods for dirt cheap prices. World consumer choice is at an all time high.
Because of the political system in place within the country, the average standard of living doesn't increase significantly.
People are not stupid. The Chinese people will see how the majority are not benefiting from the economic prosperity and attempt to change the political system. The government in place will put down initial unrest, but a civil war could occur the likes of which we have never seen in the world. The world economy that has come to depend on the Chinese government for goods.
With the ensuing economic collapse of China during the civil war, the world is plunged into a depression comparable to the late 1920's and early 1930's. The US Federal Reserve could not handle the removal of a huge portion of the world economy from the picture.
Following the civil war, a democratic government is created in China, and the economy becomes similar to many western countries, with a higher standard of living and increased wages. The economic playing field is now leveled.
Either that, or everybody nukes everybody. Whatever happens, I'll be dead by then. Oh well.
Re:A bit of (non)fiction (Score:2)
Everything I hear about China is their ability to copy stuff! Wooo. China, the world's biggest copy center.
Re:A bit of (non)fiction (Score:3, Insightful)
We're talking about the country that exists today. Now. The stability that made them the most advanced culture in the world also stopped their progression.
And I'm not talking about "Cool" or "Uncool". You're never going to be a world leader if your plan is to simply copy what the world leader has. You're just another follower then.
continued US predominance uncertain (Score:5, Insightful)
There is no reason to believe that this is inevitably a long-term state. The US is a mid-size country (by population), and food, geographic isolation, and natural resources are becoming less and less important. And other countries are becoming as attractive as the US for skilled international workers.
If the US continues to have a leadership role, it will be because it earns it. But that means that US politicians have to give up on their assumption that US predominance is a right that Americans are born with. Isolationist policies like those we have seen over the last few years will likely simply make the US less and less relevant to international affairs.
my experience (Score:4, Insightful)
In the university where work as a research assistant, the majority of PhD students are from China and India. Chinese students invariably tend to be the best ones. It seems like by the time they come here they have already done A LOT of practical hitech research in their universities.
Because of this, (and because most of them don't mind being paid 2k$/month or less) a lot of departments actually prefer to hire Chinese students for tech projects.
Many of them will go back to China once their studies are over.
It is also worth considering that for each student that makes it to the US, maybe 100 will stay in China.
And, as the article says: "Hundreds of universities with strong tech departments have been created."
Is this enough to say that China is headed towards becoming the place where hi tech is conceived and grown ?
I think that, IF these government-funded policies will go on, it will be just a matter of time (maybe a couple of generations, maybe less
And btw, it seems to me that they are very inclined toward the sharing of knowledge and information,
giampy
Re:Will China be like another Japan? (Score:2)
America has always been behind in technology compared to Japan.
There's a difference between being behind in gadgets and being behind in technology. Japan leads in gadgets and cheap manufacturing; they do not lead at the cutting edge of engineering.
Re:Will China be like another Japan? (Score:2)
Gadgets? You must mean things like automobiles, consumer electronics, robotics, semiconductors, fuzzy logic, AI, embedded systems, and other such gadgets. We have the lead in aerospace, though the aging space shuttle is not exactly cutting edge.
Re:Will China be like another Japan? (Score:2)
Cheap? I don't think so. They manufacture some of the most high-end products available, such as medical scanners and high-end manufactoring equipment (equipment for making equipment).
The difference is that the US tends to specialize in services and research rather than direct manufacturing.
"Different" is probably more applicable than "better".
Re:Will China be like another Japan? (Score:2)
Just because Japan can make more impressive little electronic doo-dads (and even that is debatable) doesn't mean they're ahead of us on everything.
When was the last time you rode on a Japanese jumbo jet? No, a 767 operated by JAL doesn't count.
Your TV may be Japanese, but what about the rest of your home appliances? Where are all the new Japanese designs for microwave ovens? Hot water heaters? New Japanese technology in refrigerator compressors? What country makes half the world's appliances again?
On the subject of compressors, I haven't heard about any new developments in air conditioning from Japan. Or is Carrier secretly a Japanese company?
All those synthetic fabrics in your clothing, were they developed in Japan or Delaware?
There was a recent article on Slashdot about some new developments in metallurgy. What country was that from again?
And these are only the examples I could think of most noticable to consumers. Of course, if Japan is so much more advanced than the US, why do they rely so much on the US economy?
Re:Correction (Score:2)
One reason for this is that the U.S. culture encourages creative thinking more than Japanese culture. Japanese culture is very rigid as far as work goes. So anyway, we develop technology such as PC's and cell phones because we think more creatively. Then the Japanese take our inventions, improve on them, and make great consumer electronics.
Re:Largest market, right (Score:2)
Re:Largest market, right (Score:2)
"Hey, we have 25 million customers in the US; if we could capture the same percentage of the Chinese market we'd have 120 million customers! We'd more than quadruple our revenues!"
"But China has a ludicrously low GDP; there's no way we'll get 120 million people who can pay that much for our product."
"No, no, don't you see? 120 million is MORE than 25 million! A LOT more! SEE?"
Right, that's why Mexico dominates North America (Score:3, Insightful)
If cheap labor were the only factor in determining the relative economic strength of a nation-state, the Romans would never have built and sustained their empire. Ditto for the Venicians, French, English, and Americans.
China is not *the* place to be. Just ask the Falung Gong. Just ask anyone who gives a fuck about freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, due process, or basic fucking human rights of any kind in China.
And from a business perspective, lack of these things, particularly in a world economy dominated by post-industrial persuits that require human creativity and unfettered access to information, is the kiss of death.
Sure, China is booming. But recall the USSR. Right up to 1989/90, many experienced Sovietologists were still predicting that the Soviet Union would allow only moderate reforms, and would certainly be around for another 50 years. That's the problem with a government with limited transparency - you never really know with any certainty what's really going on with the economy (or anything else for that matter).
Re:Right, that's why Mexico dominates North Americ (Score:3, Insightful)
Not even close, although the US has a lead in GDP it certainly isn't the sole superpower. The EU zone as a whole actually has a larger GDP. Japan has a comparable GDP even in prolonged recession.
The US superpower status is military. The EU could match the US in military power if they were prepared to devote the same insane proportion of their budgets to military hardware. However doing that would cost the courtries their welfare state services which seems a lot to give up just to build weapons for the sake of it.
The bellyaching of the US right about China has nothing to do with human rights. The US right never gave a hang about human rights abuses by Pinochet, Marcos or the House of Saud. What they are really upset about is demographics and economics. It is a lot easier for a backward country to grow at 15% as it catches up than it is for a developed country to sustain 4% growth. The only way that China can fail to overtake the US in terms of economic power is to have a civil war and be broken into pieces. Same goes for India.
Bush and the cronies who control him could not give a damn about human rights or the Falun Gong. Their speeches about human rights and democracy are as hypocritical as their speeches on corporate responsibility - one of the chief Enron scam artist who bilked his division out of $15 million in bonuses while reporting $500 million is phony profits is still secretary for the army. If you think that fine speeches about democracy are worth anything I have a lorry load of Florida chads to sell you.
Military power follows economic power. China with a population four or five times that of the US could if it chose sustain a military the same size should it choose to do so. The militarist faction of the right can only understand prestige and power and cannot imagine that any country that has the option of building a superpower status military would give up the opportunity.
Fortunately most nations don't have the same inferiority complex that drives the US right. China, Germany, France, Britain have all done the empire bit and don't need to do it again.
Much the same can be said for the US (Score:3, Insightful)
No, thats true, a lot of them went to Canada as well. Its been fairly well established that the North American free trade pact has benefitted Canada and Mexico moreso than the US.
If cheap labor were the only factor in determining the relative economic strength of a nation-state, the Romans would never have built
WHAT? Are you not familiar with the concept of slavery? The Romans didn't pay their workforce, they whipped them. The same can be said for the south in the US prior to the Civil War. Wow, you are demonstrating an astoundingly bad grasp of history here.
China is not *the* place to be. Just ask the Falung Gong.
The US is not *the* place to be. Just ask the Branch Davidians.
And from a business perspective, lack of these things, particularly in a world economy dominated by post-industrial persuits that require human creativity and unfettered access to information, is the kiss of death.
How do you presume to state that Chinese citizens cannot be creative? Microsoft does much of its research (some of which lead to MP4) in China. You're just in denial now, offering up ridiculous reasons why everywhere but the US must fail.
Re:Right, that's why Mexico dominates North Americ (Score:4, Insightful)
You don't need people with freedom to have a strong economy. If you chain research scientists to their desks and demand that they work, you can squeeze enough work out of them to make it worth your while.
And don't forget the lesson of Hitler's Germany. He turned a broken state into a real world power, and he did it without the whole 'freedom' thing. Nazi Fascism isn't any prettier than Communism.
Parent
Re:Cheap labor... (Score:2)
its not about jobs its about businesses (Score:2)
The USA has alot of businesses, if you talk about jobs you are talking mc donalds, and yes mc donalds is in mexico.
Re:its not about jobs its about businesses (Score:2)
Somebody mind explaining to me exactly WHAT a commie country is even DOING with currency? I can understand for international trade, but, err, I mean, uhhh, communists aren't SUPPOSED to have money last time I checked. . . . (or at least in any of the econ courses I have been in. . .
Nobody has been able to explain this one to me yet, rather strange actualy. Heh.
No ... Trust me ... It's China (Score:2)
Re:*cough cough sputter splurt* (Score:2)
China tends to go in cycles this way: centralism, decentralism, and then centralism again.
Perhaps if the middle class gets large enough and starts wanting political reform, a backlash from the national gov will happen.
They won't give up power easily.
Re:*cough cough sputter splurt* (Score:3, Informative)
It wasn't until after WWII that we received any notice at all...
After the Civil War we still had a currency system with exchange rates in every state! That wasn't all that long ago. The Chinese Emperor's had doors which opened for him before entering or leaving the room!
China is a marvel for invention and puts the world to shame.
Re:Nothing for USA to worry about! (Score:2)
It's already leaving. It doesn't matter that a lot of companies lose a lot of money dealing with the language barriers, uneducated and not overly competent programmers (remember, the IITs are an exception, not a rule), and logistics problems. All the managers see is that it looks good on paper and go for it.
Re:Once again, let me REPEAT myself (Score:2)
The nuke threat from Russia was never gone. Just because the Soviets were replaced by a democratic gov't doesn't mean the weapons dissapeared. They still have over 1000 warheads.
Re:Once again, let me REPEAT myself (Score:2)
yes, the Chinese are commies. So what? Communism sucks, but thats their problem, not ours. I dont think they want us dead. Are they a competitor to us? Of course. When your #1 economically (which we are), everyone is a competitor.
Yes, the communist party is getting more rich, but sooner or later, democracy will take over in that country and the commies will get their butts kicked out. Look at South korea and Taiwan. They both used to be dictatorships, but in the past 10-20 years they become pretty democratic. Eventually i think China will too.
Communism and Nukes (Score:2)
MAD (mutually assured destruction), while barbaric in concept, does seem to work nicely. Proof you ask? The Soviets, even during the blackest moments of the cold war, never launched a ICBM at us, knowing that the USA would retaliate with a massive counter strike.
The Chinese do not have the ability in any way to neutralize our nuclear forces, and for them to use their nukes would result in the effective destruction of their own country.
While the Chinese government and society are quite different from Western government and society in thought, morals, etc, I think they are logical enough to see the utter absurbity of using their nukes against the US.
Sources:
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slb
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/ssbn-726
Re:Once again, let me REPEAT myself (Score:3, Informative)
They are C-O-M-M-U-N-I-S-T-S
China now allows entrepreneurs in the "communist party". They are moving employees and businesses from the state sector to the private sector as quickly as possible. They are experimenting with village elections. In other words, they are trying to shed communism without imploding as the USSR did.
They want us D-E-A-D
Oh really? I've met hundreds of Chinese people and none of them seem to want us dead. I guess they hide their hatred well.
Why the HOLY FUCKING HELL are we selling them shit?
Mostly we are buying stuff from them, not selling to them. After all, we have money, they make cheap stuff.
ht after the USSR went down the tube and the nuke threat was gone we should have bombed the living hell out of them.
I'm just going to quit now. You're obviously not worth talking to.
Re:Once again, let me REPEAT myself (Score:3, Interesting)
several ways. By 2010 pentagon force projections
estimate that they will have more nuclear warheads
targetted in the US than will Russia. The US is
legally bound to the defense of Taiwan against
attack. Because they abort their female fetuses
in large numbers (and female infanticide is endemic)
they have a large surplus male population at
cannon-fodder age. Their economy is growing at 9%
annually while the US economy is shrinking. They
have the benefit of the balance of trade, which
gives them increasing cash reserves, and a consequent
ability to manipulate capital markets.
Calling the CCP "Communist" is like calling
scientology a religion -- it's a gross abuse of
the denotative meaning of the term. The CCP
is a collection of warlord factions not unlike
the KMT in 1910, or any of a hundred other
examples from Chinese history.
The CCP may well be the most powerful organized
entity on the face of the earth today, and it
is utterly ruthless. It has imposed an hereditary
caste system on the Chinese people, utterly
crushes any sort of labor organization, in fact
maintains a gulag system of millions of literal
slave laborers, forces hundreds of thousands of
abortions on unwilling women every year, and has
a history of wild oscillations in policy that
result in mass starvation, brutalization, and
dehumanization.
Really, it's not very unlike the U.S. government,
except that it's violence is directed inward,
against the peasants and workers and intelligentsia,
instead of outward, against swarthy people who
have oil. Both systems represent an intense
concentration of power under the domination of
one autocratic ruler. Both systems use political
parties to exclude meaningful dissent. Both
systems manipulate law to funnel funds into the
hands of crony feudal barons. Both systems
exercise strangling control over the mass media
to preclude meaningful democracy.
But the Chinese nukes are pointed at *me*, while
the U.S. nukes are pointed *away*, so I prefer
to see the U.S. hang on to its global empire
for a few more decades, please.
Oh, and we are selling them shit. Such as VSAT
technology (Hughes/Loral) and missile technology
(McDonnel and TRW), thanks to the millions funnelled
by the "People's Liberation Army" into the
Clinton/Gore campaigns.
The chinese people are wonderful, and the
chinese culture is amazingly deep and beautiful,
as is the language. But the chinese state is
perhaps the single greatest source of human
evil on the face of this planet, and as such
it should be given all the respect one gives
a rabid predator. That dragon is not a mascot
or a pet. It breathes fire, and it is waking
up from a long sleep.
Re:Humm (Score:3, Interesting)
2. The govt doesn't feed and clothe people. The market does. See capitalism.
3. With a globally integrated economy, any country will be affected if any other major economy falters.
Remeber that in the 1950s and 1960s Russia had more people and as strong of an economy as the United States, by the 1970s the parity started to shift in favor of the United States, by 1982 it had fully shifted in favor of the US.
USSR. achieved growth through massive forced mobilisation of labor. Growth in USSR eventually faltered because limits to mobilization were reached and no real productivity gains were achieved. This has little in common with what's going on in China now, which is a country in transition to a market economy.