Capitalism confronted with growing doubts
- Source: Global Times
- [18:06 November 11 2009]
- Comments
The West reflecting on capitalism
Zhou Shijian, a senior researcher at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times Chinese edition on November 9 the survey indicates that since China's reform and opening up, Chinese people see the benefits of a market economy, and so they are tolerant and open minded towards the capitalist system than before. On the contrary, the capitalist countries won in the Cold War, but that only compelled them and the communists to prove themselves further. With the end of the Cold War, capitalism used to be considered the safe symbol against the Soviet Union, but the former's appeal is on the decline.
In October 2008, The Economist magazine declared that "Thatcher - Reagan" era which was considered the "golden age" of capitalism has ended. French President Nicolas Sarkozy also claimed "self-regulation is finished," last September, indicating more state macro-control is needed.
Dr. Zhao Guojun at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times that in the past few years, China's socialist system constantly extracted experience and lessons for reforming and perfecting, but capitalism still believes it is the right path and refuses to change. Even though Obama has proposed reform, the pattern of American national interests has not changed, just like Wall Street, and capitalism gradually loses its competitiveness.
Capitalist countries appeal for social equity
With the widening social inequality and the income gap between rich and poor, people start to resent capitalism. The popularity of Japan's Communist Party newspaper, The Akahata, is on the rise after 21 years because the phenomenon of "more-work, more-poor" has appeared in the island nation, Sankei Shimbun, a local daily newspaper reported.
Olivier Besancenot, a French far left, leading opponent of President Sarkozy and is devoted anti-capitalist, has a 47 percent approval rating, way ahead of other Left leaders.
The All-Russian Research Institute recently released public opinion data showing that after the first year of the Soviet Union's disintegration in 1992, 32 percent of people endorsed capitalism and 34 percent were against. However, in a latest poll, 69 percent of Russians feel disgusted towards capitalism, with the majority of local people over 60 are still in favor of "Soviet communism."
Zhao Gancheng, director of Center for South Asia at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, explained that while seven countries in South Asia are non-socialist, they all adopted a Western democratic system. Generally speaking, India's 60 years' of democracy has been fairly satisfactory with harmonious political and economic development, while others apparently did not succeed. Pakistan's military junta has been in power for more than 30 years, which is much longer than its elected government. And its current elected government led by Asif Ali Zardari is also precarious. And for Nepal, after several regime changes, it is hardly stable."
Professor Zhang Wei at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations said, "Eastern Europe has undergone capitalism which is thought to help them rank among developed countries by the implementation of shock therapy. In the end, they paid a heavy price. The capitalist system creates wealth, but the gap between the rich and poor also increased. The West, represented by the US, assumed that their democracy is unparalleled in the world, but actually it is not true. If there is no reform in the system, there is no future for capitalism."
