TIME ARTICLE: Why China Does Capitalism Better than the U.S.

TIME ^ | 01/21/2011 | Tony Karon

[SeekAndFind]

One of the great ironies revealed by the global recession that began in 2008 is that Communist Party–ruled China may be doing a better job managing capitalism's crisis than the democratically elected U.S. government. Beijing's stimulus spending was larger, infinitely more effective at overcoming the slowdown and directed at laying the infrastructural tracks for further economic expansion.

As Western democracies shuffle wheezily forward, China's economy roars along at a steady clip, having lifted some half a billion people out of poverty over the past three decades and rapidly created the world's largest middle class to provide an engine for long-term domestic consumer demand. Sure, there's massive social inequality, but there always is in a capitalist system. (Income inequality rates in the U.S. are some of the worst in the industrialized world, and more Americans are falling into poverty than are being raised out of it. The number of Americans officially designated as living in poverty in 2009 — 43 million — was the highest in the 51 years that records have been kept.)

Beijing is also doing a far more effective job than Washington of tooling its economy to meet future challenges — at least according to historian Francis Fukuyama, erstwhile neoconservative intellectual heavyweight. "President Hu Jintao's rare state visit to Washington this week comes at a time when many Chinese see their weathering of the financial crisis as a vindication of their own system, and the beginning of an era in which U.S.-style liberal ideas will no longer be dominant," wrote Fukuyama in Monday's Financial Times under a headline stating that the U.S. had little to teach China. "State-owned enterprises are back in vogue, and were the chosen mechanism through which Beijing administered its massive stimulus."

[Dr. Wu]

China’s economy roars along at a steady clip

Ya sure does- and it’s all the $$ we pump into China that helps! Consumer goods, electronic piece parts, computer assembly work, fishing tackle.

AND we give lots of cash to China for other things, like helping them build clean coal plants, water projects, and civil infrastructure things.

And they respond by funding eco moonbats to shut our rare earth mines down here, as they corner the market in samarium and lanthanides.

Yes they are booming along- it’s our money doing it!

[The Antiyuppie]

It worries me that the US can’t do any “big” things anymore. Heck, we can’t even do any medium-sized things.

For example, we keep bitching about “energy independence”. If this really WAS one of Obama’s many “top priorities” (this week...), we would be building modern nuclear power plants all over the place and ramping up mining for rare earths and copper for all of the advanced electric cars. Ain’t gonna happen.

[Dr. Wu]

the liberal media is now trumpeting the virtues of Chinese state capitalism

As Hu suggests that we switch from the dollar to the yuan for international trade, hmmm, no parallels there.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: It worries me that the US can’t do any “big” things anymore. Heck, we can’t even do any medium-sized things.

---

It’s been 10 years since the 9/11 attack and we haven’t rebuilt what was destroyed.

Contrast this to our CAN-DO spirit just 80 years ago.

In 1930 at the height of the Great Depression, we built the Empire State building in just over a year !

[Will88]

All nations are in some way interdependent with one another.

But interdependence as a goal, which is what it is for some globalists, is total nonsense and is self-destructive. The more independent a nation is, the more able it is to retain its basic values.

[wildbill]

China has a very unique system for enforcing personal responsibility for mistakes made by anyone whom makes a wronf decsiion in their economy.

They shoot them in the back of the head and bill their family about $.35 cents US (artificially set rate)for the bullet.

Based on this program to assign and enforce responsibility about half of Goldman-Sachs and Fannie Mae decision makers as well as Congressmen like Franks and Dodd would be pushing up daisies today

[cripplecreek]

That interdependence is a dangerous thing that has already been used against us to some extent. In the run up to the Iraq war, the Swiss decided to use our dependence on them for a specific computer chip used in missile guidance. They disagreed with our desire to go to war and cut off our supply forcing us to scramble and find another supplier (probably China). At the same time China refused to sell us armor grade steel, fortunately we found an American company that could do the job.

The WTO is like the UN. A completely worthless organization that controls global trade that existed before its formation. Some nations simply ignore them while others simply go behind their back and do as they please. Again I refer to the time of the revolution and the Tea Act of 1773. It was nothing but a means of controlling trade and the increasingly rebellious people who depended on it.

[Will88]

For example, we keep bitching about “energy independence”. If this really WAS one of Obama’s many “top priorities” (this week...),

I doubt Obama wants the US to be energy independent, or anything close to that. If he told us the truth, I think he's very much in the 'interdependence' camp which, of course, weakens the nations which have the ability to be the most independent.

We've had several prominent 'Americans' say that having only one superpower is an undesirable thing.

[6SJ7]

The core of the Chinese economy is run by the PLA. The Party leadership bows to the Army.

That's an interesting analog to the old Roman Empire where in the later stages, the emperor was often chosen by the legions, specifically the Praetorian Guard. The Praetorian Guard had come to the realization that their muscle was the real power of the emperor; without it he had nothing. They could make him or break him.

[Tallguy]

People were saying the same thing about the Soviet Union when Khruschev was over her being hosted by (then VP) Richard Nixon. 35 years later the Soviet Union was history.

Totalitarian states are like stately oceanliners cruising past the seemingly disorganized lifeboat of liberal democracies. Everything looks wonderful until they strike the iceberg.

Sooner of later the lack of a true legal system (ie. “Private Property) and Liberty is going to rise up & bite China in the hind-parts.

[BenKenobi]

How’d that work out for Mussolini? I guess the trains ran on time... Isolation isn’t helpful either, for the preservation of your culture. America is everywhere because of the cultural influence it exterts.

[Will88]

I think it was also the Swiss who refused to sell hand grenades to the Brits, and there were a couple of other items where EU members refused to supply the Brits in Iraq so the US had to fill in those items.

It’s also very dumb to become too dependent on other nations for basic food items. I’ve often been critical of Japan’s one-sided trade dealing, but I never thought there was anything wrong if they wanted to produce their basic food items, even if they could import much more cheaply.

[denydenydeny]

These kind of ridiculous articles admiring “Chinese capitalism” drive me crazy. They are all from liberals who are forver finding fault with American capitalism’s “cruelty” and “greed” but have no problem with a society featuring:

NO unions.

NO environmental laws.

NO worker safety laws.

DEATH PENALTY for employee theft.

[Will88]

How’d that work out for Mussolini? I guess the trains ran on time... Isolation isn’t helpful either, for the preservation of your culture. America is everywhere because of the cultural influence it exterts.

All your talk of Mussolini is basically irrelevant nonsense. And having an economy that is mostly self-sufficient and retains a great degree of independence does not even begin to equal your 'isolationism' boogeyman. That's about as relevant as Revs JJ and Al yelling 'racism' at every opportunity.

[The Comedian]

Top 10 Reasons Why China Does Capitalism Better than the USA:

1) No minimum wage

2) No unions

3) No EPA

4) No welfare, Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, no entitlements period

5) No Marxists (compared to current American FedGov)

6) Endless stream of American money via exports

7) No eternal military presence all over the planet

8) No ethnic minorities (Wiggers and Tibetans don't count)

9) No election politics (handing out other people's money to buy votes)

10) No political correctness (100% in favor of Chinese dominance in all spheres)

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[PGR88]

Yeah, Red China does capitalism so well that almost 15% of their people benefit from it.

YES! Once again, TIME takes one of the over-hyped issues of the day, and issues a milktoast opinion that is exactly wrong. Mao set the conditions for today's "success" in China. Yes, China allows small and light industry to operate somewhat freely (under Gov't and Party supervision, of course), but the remainder is state-owned, and state-directed, crony capitalism at its worst. 10-15% of people, those close to the levers of power, do well - The average Chinese worker or farmer is still, ultimately, a slave to the state, where the goals are still "production."

[BenKenobi]

Never did say that isolation and interdependence are in and of themselves bad. Both are necessary. Arguing that American culture has been hindered seems odd from where I sit, where it’s precisely the opposite. Maybe it’s not your American culture because you are the ‘wrong kind of american’, but it’s American culture nonetheless.

The point being that Mussolini’s argument that Italy should preserve their culture by being completely independent, that the shouldn’t import anything and keep everything they have for themselves, failed spectacularly. Fascist Italy hasn’t really left any cultural legacy on Italy as a whole. Contrast this with what defines Italy is often what has been sent out abroad. Same with America.

I agree with you that independence is important, and that it’s important for America to maintain a certain degree of isolation from other nations. America’s problems shouldn’t be the problems of the world, and vice versa. But America is a part of the world. The tension between the two poles is what we are discussing.

You can argue at the same time that while American culture is omnipresent, it also isn’t very good, and that in order for American culture to develop, it has to step back and take in itself away from the influence of others. Perhaps so.

[Will88]

You're jumping to a conclusion that a significant degree of economic independence (which is what I was commenting about) equals some sort of cultural isolationism.

Arguing that American culture has been hindered seems odd from where I sit, where it’s precisely the opposite. Maybe it’s not your American culture because you are the ‘wrong kind of american’, but it’s American culture nonetheless.

Where did all that come from? I never mentioned culture. Something triggered a sensitive topic with you, but I think you mostly jumped to a lot of conclusions that had little to do with anything I've said. Sounds like you want to change American culture and that you oppose anything that might hinder that.

You're far too concerned about 'isolationism', something that isn't possible in today's world no matter how economically independent a given nation might be.

[BenKenobi]

No, I never said anything of the sort. Cultural and Economic isolation is good, to a degree. Cultural and Economic interdependence is good, to a degree. Extremes on both ends are detrimental to both economic and cultural development.

I like American culture, and I think it’s a good thing that people anywhere in the world can log on and talk to each other in English. Of course, I think it’s all rather silly as it’s a branch of a much older and well-established culture as a provicial offshoot sequel that’s taken over from the original.

But then that would be telling, and that’s no fun. Bah.

Why would I want to *change* American culture? I mean, you’ve got Obama as president and that must mean everything is right in the world. ;)

[Will88]

You have some opinions on subjects which you like to express, but those opinions are only tangentially related to anything I have said. And you don’t bring forward any specific statement you are responding to, so it’s even more a mystery what idea of mine you are commenting upon.

And you have attributed assertions to me which I never made, or you have jumped to conclusions that nothing I’ve said would have suggested.

Like all too many on FR, you are just tying some opinions you want to express to a post they are only very tangentially related to. Make an original post and say whatever you want, but most of what you’ve said did not relate to anything I’ve said.