I was looking for you in the comment section. The article sounded like the kind of stuff you warn about with regards to China, except for the conclusion they came to that China is incentived to go to war to solve their problems.
I hope they don’t obviously. I would way rather they just purge any neoliberals in charge.
The article is actually kind of run-of-the-mill analysis you get in mainstream financial press in China. Standard neoclassical thinking but one that is now becoming quite ubiquitous if you follow economic or financial news in China. A lot of “now that our economy is becoming more developed, we cannot expect to have high growth all the time… look at advanced Western countries and Japan… we have to get used to the new reality…” etc.
Unfortunately, when you take it to the conclusion under such framework, it means militarization because the ideological indoctrination from the IMF prevents them (most Global South countries, actually) from seeing running permanent government deficit as an economic solution. China has increased investment in militarization in response to Western threats, and military recruitment is being used as a way to alleviate the youth unemployment problem. Applicants for public services, especially military and police academy, has shot through the roof this year, because it’s guaranteed employment with good salary compared to private sector. The vibes for your average new graduates have certainly changed from “I’m going to work hard in the private sector and make good money to settle down with a family and a house” ten years ago to “I’d rather take a stable pay in the public sector with limited career progression and make sure I don’t lose my job over the next ten years”.
And this is not just China. Arguably, the EU and US militarization is even more intense within the last few years.
I sound like a broken record here, but the Global Majority needs a new economic framework that is radically different from neoliberalism if it is serious about decoupling itself from the West. As Michael Hudson often says, Capital Vol. 2 and 3 aren’t taught in China. Most of their knowledge in finance and the monetary system came from emulating the Western system.
I was looking for you in the comment section. The article sounded like the kind of stuff you warn about with regards to China, except for the conclusion they came to that China is incentived to go to war to solve their problems.
I hope they don’t obviously. I would way rather they just purge any neoliberals in charge.
The article is actually kind of run-of-the-mill analysis you get in mainstream financial press in China. Standard neoclassical thinking but one that is now becoming quite ubiquitous if you follow economic or financial news in China. A lot of “now that our economy is becoming more developed, we cannot expect to have high growth all the time… look at advanced Western countries and Japan… we have to get used to the new reality…” etc.
Unfortunately, when you take it to the conclusion under such framework, it means militarization because the ideological indoctrination from the IMF prevents them (most Global South countries, actually) from seeing running permanent government deficit as an economic solution. China has increased investment in militarization in response to Western threats, and military recruitment is being used as a way to alleviate the youth unemployment problem. Applicants for public services, especially military and police academy, has shot through the roof this year, because it’s guaranteed employment with good salary compared to private sector. The vibes for your average new graduates have certainly changed from “I’m going to work hard in the private sector and make good money to settle down with a family and a house” ten years ago to “I’d rather take a stable pay in the public sector with limited career progression and make sure I don’t lose my job over the next ten years”.
And this is not just China. Arguably, the EU and US militarization is even more intense within the last few years.
I sound like a broken record here, but the Global Majority needs a new economic framework that is radically different from neoliberalism if it is serious about decoupling itself from the West. As Michael Hudson often says, Capital Vol. 2 and 3 aren’t taught in China. Most of their knowledge in finance and the monetary system came from emulating the Western system.