February 21, 2016
CAN'T HAVE A CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS WHEN THERE IS JUST ONE:
The China Delusion (Rob Johnson, 2/16/16, Project Syndicate)
Contra Samuel Huntington, there are no functional alternatives to the End of History.For some people, visions of the wonders of capitalism with Chinese characteristics remain undiminished. They are certain that, after more than three decades of state-directed growth, China's leaders know what to do to turn their slumping economy around.The optimists' unreality is rivaled by that of supply-siders, who would apply shock therapy to China's slumping state sector and immediately integrate the country's underdeveloped capital markets into today's turbulent global financial system. That is a profoundly dangerous prescription. The power of the market to transform China will not be unleashed in a stagnant economy, where such measures would aggravate deflationary forces and produce a calamity.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 21, 2016 8:25 AM
