Schedium

Looking north on Spadra Avenue, Fullerton, 1950s (image courtesy Orange Country Archives via Flickr) The era between 1945 and 1975 is often described as the 'Golden Age' of capitalism. During this period the economy of the United States, Western Europe and Japan grew at an unprecedented pace. The post-war economic miracle was made possible by the parallel growth of productivity, capital stock per worker and real wages, which ensured a balanced development of production and consumption. Despite the rapid increase in the volume of international trade, in the post-war period developed countries mostly relied on their domestic market to boost growth (see  The Golden Age of Capitalism: Reinterpreting the Postwar Experience , eds Stephen A. Marglin, Juliet B. Schor). But were the nearly three decades that followed the Second World War really a 'golden age'? Were people better off than we are now? Let us look at some facts. In 1960-61 the average  household income...

The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (via Wikimedia Commons) In an article published on Chinese state-run news outlet People's Daily on June 28, the Liaison Office of Chinese central government in Hong Kong argued that Xi Jinping Thought  must be applied to the former British colony in order to promote nationalism and solve Hong Kong's "long-term problems". The op-ed quotes a speech that Xi Jinping gave during a visit to Hong Kong in the summer of 2017 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the handover. "As a special administrative area under the direct jurisdiction of the Central People's Government, Hong Kong has since the day of the handover once again become part of the nation's system of government," Xi had said.  According to the Liaison Office , Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is "the most recent outcome of Chi...

United States Supreme Court (by Jeff Kubina, via Wikimedia Commons) In August 1971, shortly before accepting Richard Nixon's nomination to the Supreme Court,  Lewis Powell  wrote a confidential  memorandum  to the US Chamber of Commerce. In the document, Powell argued that the American system of free enterprise was under attack by leftist groups, and he envisioned a strategy to fight back against those forces that were, in his view, anti-business. "[B]usinessmen have not been trained or equipped to conduct guerrilla warfare with those who propagandize against the system, seeking insidiously and constantly to sabotage it," Powell wrote. He praised business executives for having performed "very well indeed" the role "to manage, to produce, to sell, to create jobs, to make profits, to improve the standard of living, to be community leaders, to serve on charitable and educational boards, and generally to be good citizens." However, he argued th...

The Red Detachment of Women (image by Byron Schumaker via Wikimedia Commons) On May 1 China adopted a new law that promotes "patriotism and socialist core values" and criminalizes acts that "defame heroes and martyrs," or "distort and diminish their deeds." The law also makes it illegal to "glorify invasions." The law is part of a larger scheme which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been pursuing since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012. His vision is to end the era of political indifference brought about by economic development. In 2005 The New York Times remarked that the CCP had been "plagued by the loss of ideological enthusiasm and the rampancy of corruption among its members for the past two decades." Xi Jinping has sought to reverse that trend. Using traditional tools of Communist brainwashing, he wants Party ideology to be once again at the centre of people's lives. In a 2013 speech Xi emphasi...

Sanya, Hainan (by Alex Kwok via Wikimedia Commons) South China's Hainan Province  will set up  special tourist zones where travellers will be able to access popular foreign websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube that are currently blocked in mainland China.  According to state-run news outlet Global Times, this month   the government of Hainan Province has issued a three-year plan to improve the internationalization of the tourist industry. The plan includes the creation of special tourist zones with unrestricted internet access for overseas visitors. This move has been compared to the establishment of special economic zones during Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up era in the late 1970s and 1980s.  China's internet is heavily censored by the Communist government. Last year Beijing launched a crackdown on the use of VPNs, which for decades have allowed users to bypass restrictions imposed by the authorities.  The...

President Donald J. Trump and President Xi Jinping on July 8, 2017 (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead, via Wikimedia Commons) On May 4 the Trump administration demanded that the Chinese government implement measures to cut its $200 trade surplus with the United States, lower import tariffs and reduce advanced technology subsidies. A US delegation headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  arrived in Beijing on May 3 to hold  trade talks  with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. Chinese media published a document allegedly submitted by the US delegation to the Chinese side during the negotiations. "At present, the United States-China trade relationship is significantly imbalanced," the paper states. "United States investment and the sale of services into China remain severely constrained. China's industrial policies now targeting U.S. technologies and intellectual property pose significant economic and security concerns to the United States. ...