Wednesday, July 21, 2010

China: Ready to Rumble...

China surpassed United States in energy consumption last week. It was half that just 10 years ago. Think about that magnitude. In just 10 years China, which has averaged a long term growth rate of about 8% a year, doubled in energy consumption. Future oil, coal and basic resources will no longer be guided by United States but how China fine tunes its voracious appetite. There has been several trillion dollar transfer of wealth from all nations, primarily United States, to China.




They have kept their currency pegged to the US to fill up their coffers, and then as the consumption internally improve, un-peg the dollar gradually. It can only be done by an intelligent communist one party nation – note, the word ‘intelligent’. For every one of those, you have a North Korea, which is the antithesis of how a dictator can ruin its people. One day, China will simply take that over or be handed over North Korea, as it will simply not be governable anymore. China has proved one thing: that democracy trumps economic growth. China has a neighbor, housing another billion plus people, called India – the world’s largest and functioning democracy. Its constitution is so expansive in its democratic reach that it has made parts of that country ungovernable for all practical reasons. It is growing, it has free press, and it has made strides. But nothing close to what China has done. In many India can never be able to achieve what China has been able to achieve, and its democracy actually detracts it from achieving some of its potential. During the mid-70s when an Emergency was imposed in India, it is argued that it was the best three years of functioning India had ever seen.



So, this brings us back to what should other nations do? Most of them are helpless to sit and watch and go begging for alms to this mighty federation. Developed nations like their socialistic policies and high taxation, most have been driven away from innovation and hard work. The same is fast becoming the case within United States, if present trends continue. For the first time, US lags in innovation as a nation.



But all this does not matter till that trinket we buy from Walmart, for $2.99 remains that way for the foreseeable future, because that is all we care about. As long as my own life in my own little microcosm is not disturbed, anyone can be a world superpower, just leave alone my job, my iPod, my TV, my transportation, my gasoline, my air, my utility bill and my ability to indulge in useless things. Anyone can run the world. All this time, we never noticed someone came from behind, caught up and beating down everyone.

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