For a couple of decades now I’ve been insisting that China is the most free market economy on the planet. In some senses of course this is laughably untrue. In others, or in at least one, remarkably close to the bone.
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Samizdata quote of the day – China is the most free market economy on the planetPerry de Havilland (Prague) · Chinese affairs · Economics, Business & Globalization · Slogans & Quotations December 18th, 2025 |
 8 comments to Samizdata quote of the day – China is the most free market economy on the planetLeave a Reply |
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Very glad his sub-head is “For a given meaning of “free market” of course.”
Get gov on your side, and everything just wooshes through!
(Now try Winnie-the-Pooh tee shirts! 😉 )
As the piece makes clear – it is NOT that the People’s Republic of China is “free market” IT IS NOT.
What the difference is that the Western governments have become Byzantine (or Hapsburg – the Austro-Hungarian Empire invented the use of “red tape” and many other colours of tape for its endless documents used by its vast administrative staff) bureaucracy – with no one really in charge.
As Donald John Trump pointed out many years ago – what used to take a few months to build with hand tools, now takes many years to build (if it is built at all) in spite of modern technology. Due to endless regulations and bureaucracy.
Everything in Western societies is now strangled with Red Tape – controlled by administrative bodies that are largely independent of political control (and that is held to be a “good thing”).
“But surely you would not give this sort of power to elected politicians – they will demand bribes!”
I would not give “thus sort of power” to anyone – “this sort of power” SHOULD NOT EXIST.
bobby,
In Keirstan these days there’s an awful lot of T-shirt designs that could land you in serious trouble…
Paul,
I think if RR stops building turbines in the UK (as they are suggesting) I think we can conclude THAT IS IT. I would say, “Would the last out please turn off the light” but I suspect, “Snuff out the candle” is going to be more appropriate.
NickM,
Yes. As awful as the immigration problem is, the economic situation is even worse. If the government succeeds is driving out the tax base an crashing the economy recovery is going to be impossible.
I have a horrible suspicion that the government is doing a “pump and dump” on it’s own economy. It is importing any warm body it can find to boost GDP, it is boosting GDP to maintain the exchange rate, and it is maintaining the exchange rate to help it’s friends with sterling investments. What cannot continue, won’t.
Roue le Jour – as you know, the idea (pushed by the Economist magazine – and other liars) that mass immigration is “good for the economy” is FALSE.
“GDP” may go up – but people, individuals and families, get poorer and poorer.
Of course, this doesn’t really have anything to do with the free market as such. In a free market economy you have multiple competing firms which
all have to abide by the same rules. Sometimes the rules prevent anyone from getting anything done. China’s economy is still in many ways largely
central command, and that means the authorities can whimsically apply different rules to different firms.
george m weinberg.
The People’s Republic of China sounds rathe like a place where the head of an organisation (Black Rock) which “manages” trillions of Dollars of shares (and with State Street and Vanguard has a stranglehold over the economy) openly boasts of demanding that business enterprises follow a political and cultural agenda – for example employ and promote people on the basis of race and sex (and sexuality), rather than merit.
Far from being fired for his insane ravings, Mr Larry Fink (the head of the Black Rock) was rewarded by being the made the head of the World Economic Forum.
In a free market economy. i.e. an economy without Credit Money being dished out to the connected, none of this would be possible.
Get gov on your side, and everything just wooshes through!
There you have it…. it’s the Government…
And don’t suppose for a moment that this “Government service” comes for free.
It’s like we said on a recent thread – sometimes bribes are usefull.