More recently, many people believed China Inc. would own the world. We now see the beginning evidence that we won't all be owned by China either.
The Wall Street Journal reports on worker unrest - even riots - in southern China. It was to be expected. Now to explain why.
Abjectly poor people normally don't rebel; rebellion happens when expectations begin to rise, when the poor get slightly less poor and expect the upward trend to continue. That is an exact description of where China is today.
China believed it could avoid the troubles Russia has experienced by permitting economic liberalization without allowing political freedom. It is likely that China's leadership was wrong; time will tell.
