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| China, India Superpower? Not |
| 2005-10-28 |
| Entire article at link, this is the introdcution. Yale Global Online and a UC-Berkeley professor, so salt to taste. Every day, countless commentators prophesize the ascendance of the world's next superpowers, China and India, the two "Asian giants" shaking off their ancient slumber and rising to the call of the 21st century. According to popular punditry, their place in the firmament of globalization's success stories is already guaranteed. Yet economist Pranab Bardhan argues that a much more complicated picture belies the rosy visions of optimists. In China, rural and urban inequality grows at alarming rates, stirring unrest amongst those hundreds of millions who remain impoverished. In fact, China, responsible for only 6 percent of world trade, has actually lost manufacturing jobs in the past ten years. Meanwhile, India's much-vaunted hi-tech sector accounts for less than one quarter of one percent of the country's labor force. The nation still boasts the world's highest illiteracy rate, while poverty reduction continues to slow. In short, Bardhan suggests, only patience and struggle – not destiny – can guide India and China to the level of superpowers. – YaleGlobal |
| Posted by:Phavimp Fleremble4870 |
| #1 I'm not completely up on economics, but even I see some problems with this guy's interpretations: "India's much-vaunted hi-tech sector accounts for less than one quarter of one percent of the country's labor force." Yes, but what percent of India's GDP do they account for? "... while poverty reduction continues to slow." Implies poverty reduction still continues, despite India's high birth rate. While I agree that India and China are still not ready for first-world status, Bardhan clearly sees things through a Marxist lens. |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2005-10-28 15:37 |