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They deserve every bit of praise considering the fact that China was known as the 'land of famine' for majority of its history [0] -- having suffered their last
by abhiminator 8y ago
They deserve every bit of praise considering the fact that China was known as the 'land of famine' for majority of its history [0] -- having suffered their last major famine in the 1960s [1], that's just 60 years ago -- a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. The turnaround is truly impressive for a country the size of China. Makes one wonder about the power of free markets in lifting huge segments of the population from immense poverty.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines_in_China
[1] http://www.sacu.org/greatleapfamine.html http://www.sacu.org/greatleapfamine.html
- boomboomsubban 8y agoIf you look at that list, you could also argue the free market caused the death of around a hundred million people.
- oblio 8y ago> Makes one wonder about the power of free markets in lifting huge segments of the population from immense poverty. One would argue that it was a market economy with heavy state interventions. I'm not sure I'd call that a "free market". But then again, I think a "free market" is a purely theoretical concept that only serves as a rough outline in real life, it has no practical application.
- eitally 8y agoI think that was the point. It has absolutely not been a free market (compared-ish to the US economy) and overall it's worked wonders at the macro level, whether you're looking at QoL, infrastructure, business conditions, education, or most other measures I can think of besides privacy and human rights.