[G. Adams]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (nature of reality,)
"Capitalism is not a political system, it is an economic one, and is compatible with authoritarean regimes. IE China"


yes, china is indeed the very face of laissez faire capitalism.

?

from the cia world factbook

"In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2002, with its 1.3 billion people but a GDP of just $4,400 per capita, China stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and © keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen China's ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. Beijing has claimed 7%-8% annual growth in recent years, and while many observers believe the official figures over the past two decades overstated China's real economic growth by 2 to 3 percentage points, China's official national growth rates of the past two years are fairly close to actual GDP growth. "



Even with liberal use of the term, china is at best a MIXED economy, and now where near a laissez faire capitalist system. But notice as their policies approach non-control, the economic output and general quality of life improves.

But as any economy apporaches or has approached your precious ideal of communism, economic output drops and so does quality of life( not to mention how life is valued....). All in search of that dirty zero you seek.


"No, raping as in using the WTO to push economic reform onto countries not ready for it, thus opening up their markets to plundering from TNC's from the US and Europe. At the same time, you refuse to open up your own markets to these states, and even if you did your subsidies to your agricultural industry would prevent them from entering into the US market. Thats why I said your raping the world.
"


market economy.... So they are consenting to be raped? You have a funny definition for rape.


Also, subsidies to the agriculture, or robbing me and giving it to a lazy farmer is a socialist policy enacted by statists. Or are you saying subsidies are a laissez capitalist features? Because that would show a very ignorant knowledge of the defintion of the word.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

There are no laizzes-faire economies, so to try and hold China, which is a burgeoning capitalist state, up to such a comparison is meaningless.

Of course China improves as authoritarianism is picked apart, this is nearly always the case. So whats your point?

You have a funny definition of consent? Hey you, starving country, want some food? Well your gonna have to cut all subsidies, take away all public health support and slash your education budget like theres no tommorow. Yes we know without education your country can't actually improve, but we don't want you to, cause then we'd have to pay your better wages! So get into those factories and stitch some shirts for 60cents an hour.