I’m glad to hear that of my friends’ living conditions. They are very good examples of Dr. Sowell’s thesis of this article. As scientists, I doubt their services can be had by force.
I’ve lived in the US (obviously), Belgium (Sint Pieters Leeuw), Chile (Vina del Mar/Valparaiso) and now Shanghai. Life in Shanghai really isn’t too different than that in Belgium or Chile; yes, it’s crowded (downtown; where I live it’s not too bad) but the water is fine from the tap (although you can tell it’s river water, like you can in much of the Midwest), power and Internet always works, plumbing is fine, etc.
Beijing is much the same; for those with any kind of income (2000-3000 RMB per month or more) it’s not too bad, and with good income (10000 RMB per month) you live a pretty nice, easy life. Yes, there is extreme poverty in China, and you do see it outside the cities, but I saw the same outside of Valparaiso in Chile, and it doesn’t look any worse than what you see in areas of Detroit...
Oh, and that brown haze you often see over Beijing? Some of it is pollution (much like LA or Houston back in the 80s) but most of it comes from the fact the Gobi desert is a few hours away to the West, and sends a LOT of really fine dust and sand into Beijing. Same as happens in Phoenix and Las Vegas during the summer when the winds kick up.