Does the rise of India and China not demonstrate the success of neoliberalism or capitalism?
China was never a neoliberal economy. It is a highly protected economy with a strong state role. For example, China has no capital account liberalisation why is why its currency is doing well. It has also retained control over its financial sector which is why it has not been sucked into the financial crisis. But China is clearly a capitalist economy par excellence. In fact the integration of China into the global capitalist economy was a key mechanism to continue to reproduce the system. This is an intrinsic part of capitalism, that it contains a dynamic to reproduce itself, which was a core insight of Rosa Luxemburg. The capitalist nature of the economy has meant China’s growth has been based on repression of its working class, the marginalisation of peasants and workers and the growth of huge inequalities. So if people ask if China is a model for developing countries, the answer is definitely no. Even if some aspects of the state role in the Chinese economy are important and worth r
