I really blame China for the shift away from libertarian thinking and toward both right and left authoritarianism. The old argument from libertarians was that

I really blame China for the shift away from libertarian thinking and toward both right and left authoritarianism. The old argument from libertarians was that freedom and modern prosperity are a package deal. Take away freedom and you get poverty, corruption, and stagnation. That seemed mostly true until the Chinese "miracle." China seems to be proving that you can have prosperity without freedom or human rights. You can allow some amount of freedom in certain select areas, and that's all it takes. That has in turn opened the door for a whole host of fundamental challenges to freedom and human rights in the West.