F. J. Taylor

Chinese Youth Will Propel Economic and Political Changes

What a load of cobblers. China is going down because her main trading partners (us and the EU) are going down.

What we are seeing was the inevitable result of years of wastrel living in the West following WW II. Many of us have spent all our money, poisoned our environment, and lived lavish, conspicuously consumptive lifestyles in our greedy pursuit of ever more wealth, huge SUVs, McMansions, etc.

Now it is time to pay the piper - in terms of off-shored jobs (themselves now collapsing due to lack of demand), people drowning in debt who are losing their foreclosed houses (crammed to the seams with tons of useless shite that nobody really needed, much of it bearing labels stating "made in China"), and grossly obese people with major health issues, and many other problems - and yet you are suggesting we and / or the Chinese youth can and should spend our way out of it to sally forth into a brave new world of yet more spending on useless gew-gaws? Are you all stark raving mad? - wait a minute, this IS an investment site - so many here are the same people who helped create the monster... even me, who has led a relatively simple life, has invested a few bob (although I have tried earnestly to do so in a socially and environmentally responsible fashion).

mollytjm - get used to gloomy scenarios, because that is what is and will be transpiring - and you and all of us had better pray (or whatever you do in lieu thereof) that it won't come down to a REAL "doomsday" scenario - which is all too possible - history is rife with examples, easily discernible to those of us who read more than the Financial section of the papers and look beyond the end of Q4.

Most of you folks have minus zero idea of how close to the edge "civilization" is all the time, never mind in times like these, or how easily it can and has been toppled.

As to those who, like the author, believe that it is a good thing that Chinese youth adopt our profligate lifestyle and that they can propel "good" political change thereby (by which one assumes that they will establish a capitalist so-called "free market" and "democratic" government), I would say that it is more likely that they will spend their parent's hard-earned savings (as some of the others here have mentioned) and that if they try to make any substantive changes, they will meet with the same iron fist that was unleashed in Tienamen Square.

Summary? Dream on... but don't be surprised when reality hits you between the eyes...