To complete the above, a coincidence...

I just saw a tv documentary produced by ARTE — France, 2006, on Chongqing, capital of Western China, which is becoming one of the largest cities in the world (Population: 30 million, with annual growth of 200,000 people)

That documentary is on leading-edge China in the fields of real estate, education, research, culture, health, the environment and social inequalities.

Readers may be particularly interested in learning about Chongqing Haifu Technology Co., Ltd., the world leader in high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology.

"The Model JC Haifu system’s ability to cause targeted cell death makes HIFU an attractive option for the development of a non-invasive tool for the treatment of soft cell cancers. Haifu’s patented technology has been used to treat patients in China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and the UK and in total over 6,000 patients have been treated by Haifu’s groundbreaking technology. In 2005 the Model JC Haifu system was CE-marked for sale in the European Union after testing at the Churchill Hospital of Oxford University".... "It may not be the complete answer for every cancer patient but thanks to recent European approval (CE Mark) thousands of liver and kidney cancer sufferers across the World could now benefit from a remarkable piece of proven medical technology from China." (OXFORD, England, September 22/PRNewswire/)

BIO, I appreciate that you share half my views. I may be a better judge of the right than of the left, after all... I wish I could reciprocate on your views re: China. But I cannot.

You ask what this obsession with China is. Well, have you not noticed that it has been present all over the media, in the West, and for some time now? You should put the question to people in the media. India, and more recently Brazil, have become part of that obsession, it seems. Those countries account for a good many human beings on this planet, you know!

I believe one of the most significant socio-political changes we are currently witnessing, is this: the time has come to share this world in a major, renewed way (never experienced before), something those at the top of globalization (read: “imperialism under US hegemony”) are not in the least prepared to do, despite all their assurances to the contrary. But in the history of mankind, as you know, it is difficult to find instances where those at the top ever shared what they rightly or wrongly considered theirs, willingly.

With all due respect, in what you say briefly about China, I find many of the stereotypes those who rule this society wish us to believe. In fact, we in the West do not know China. I dare say we know nothing about modern, contemporary China. Least of all do we know what China thinks, assuming it is possible to know that. How could it be otherwise? Have you often heard Chinese leaders talk to us about real China? Have you ever heard discussed in our midst, with Chinese authorities and/or intellectuals, how China is currently building a socialist society? How can one possibly know the horse, unless one hears it from the horse’s mouth? As Japanese poet Basho once put it: “learn the bird from the bird.”

After just over half a century, China has moved well beyond mere survival. China is rapidly becoming the supplier of the world in most essential economic areas. It is in the process of dominating whole markets and of conquering key others, including in technology. Some would have us believe this is only because China’s currency is (artificially) low. This is nothing but a red herring, as is the claim that should China raise the value of its currency, everything would “stabilize” and return to what things were, “in the good old days”. Even the environment issue will have to be negotiated internationally with China. Should the threat to humanity soon prove to be what you say it is, the West will have to make enormous concessions to all those countries which, like China, will not compromise and sacrifice their necessary growth and development, so the West can continue to overdevelop.

There is no returning to “the good old days”. Modern China now has infrastructures, transportation networks, sources of supply and production capacities that make it an extremely powerful and influential country on the world scene. China’s role in the world, economic, monetary, political and military will only continue to expand like we cannot even imagine. Just as there is no model country China can possibly imitate, there is no precedent, in the world, that can help us understand what China is becoming and what it means for tomorrow’s world..

It is my opinion that those who rule this society have more than an inkling of what I am saying here. But as they only see the tip of the iceberg, the mighty object has them worried, very worried. More so given it is legendary how secretive, patient, and hard working Chinese people are. Yes, the time to share this world has come, and our rulers are not prepared to share. Never were, unlikely ever to be. I believe unless we do share this world with others, the Western world as we know it will crumble: “Not in a bang, but a whimper.” (T. S. Eliot). Countries like China will force us to share, and in a big way. It is already doing so.
In the current socio-political context, given all this most likely sounds fanciful at best, if not outright insane, let me conclude on Cassandra. When Cassandra foresees the destruction of Troy, she warns the Trojans yet is unable to do anything to forestall these events. Her family believes she is mad, and keeps her locked up because of this. Soon thereafter, Troy is no more.

All I am saying is this: only sharing, cooperation, and peaceful coexistence can save us. The sooner we work at it with all nations, including the Chinese, the better. But I see no sign of this.

ORL:

I completely agree with you on capitalism and democracy, but what is this obsession with China? Its probably the oldest 'civilization' known to man, and its never exceeded, merely survived through many forms. I see no evidence to suggest it will start now. Its riding a system filled with corruption and an artificially low currency. And its environmental policies, or lack thereof, threaten all of humanity. Its an enormous consuming entity fueled by 2 billion people. It has a great sheen on the surface but serious internal problems. How do you envision this country going anywhere except by pure brute strength?

It is true that in the West, quite generally, political parties seem to have been swept into one big lump... to the right. Opportunism has become the norm, with little to show by way of true social progress and achievements. As a result of so much stagnation, one can easily feel that disenchantement has become the dominant mood in our societies. Long term, our lack of vision and of imagination is killing us, politically.

That being said, I continue to believe that there is no greater calamity, for a citizen, than to be unable (or unwilling) to tell his right from his left. Too many now speak as though "left" and "right" had come to mean the same thing, or had simply lost their meaning. Quite generally, those who hold that view are to be found on the right of the spectrum, where they have always been or have recently moved. That is the best indication of how well their position serves the right. Nothing like confusion: "we are all the same after all, are we not?"

No, we are not. Between right and left, there is still, literally, a world of a difference. Should China, some day, show the world how it has attained socialism by going through the pains of capitalism (an old, central, long lasting debate, amongst communists), we shall all see, then, what that world of a difference always did correspond to. Only time will tell.

Capitalism, with its relatively recent imperialistic climax, has been around for centuries. Contemporary China is still in its infancy, being just over half a century old. Let us all be patient. Currently, quiet China is in the news many times over, everyday, and we have not seen anything yet. What will it be like, as we learn more about and from that uniquely phenomenal country?

Mr. Vamos,

How you described your countrys politics seem to be very similar to Americas politics at the present time, and I would venture to say for the past 40 years as well. It did not get that way over nite for sure. We have the fanatical right right screaming at the fanatical left. And of course the left screaming at the right. While both parties state that its only the other party that commits these childish behaviors. Both parties are Masters of Illusions. And when someone even suggests that a Third party enter the picture that is when you will see both the left and right band together to fight the third party. That is about the only time that they will agree, when their jobs are threatened. God forbid, some of us might actually have someone worth going to the polls to vote for.

There is no doubt but that the class war in over, yet what we have is not exactly a situation where class is an irrelevant factor in our current history. Given the tremendous concentration of capital, thefact that investors now have a bigger share in the GDP, the fact that Corporations downsize, and export jobs,and take their production overseas indicates all those behaviors that were analyzed by Marx. The Republican Party embodies the ideal that what is good for business is good for America, and the government uses tax dollars to create business opportunities for the industial military complex, but also at the local level, e.g. having tax payers pick up the bill for infrastructure after the developers have taken the high profits. On the other hand,labor has lost its ability to organize, while the public either wallows in spin, personality issues, and a couple of cultural issues thereby taking all the debate about the direction of the country, about the policies of government of the political stage. So yes, the class war is over, but the underlying issues of class relations remain very much center stage. While the European wage earners of all stripes have done well out of the old class war, as in some Latin American countries like Brazil, the United States Welfare State model is far from creatiing the conditions of a good life for its citizenry that works longer hours, and harder to pay for a life style they have little time to enjoy, while the mass of working poor, plus poor immigrants struggle to hold on to any shred of dignity, and offer some level of survival for their families. patrick

Hungary is saddled with a combination of power-hungry factions and bad managers.

Substitute The US and you have the exact political situation in this country since Geo Bush Sr ran for re-election. Democratic Party candidates only care about the advancement of the Democratic Party and Republican Party candidates only care about the advancement of the Republican Party.

It's not the country, it's the party stupid!

Although I agree with Mr. Vamos here, I don't see America's recent political history as being only about factions jockeying for power.

America was a very successful and stable place in the second half of the 20th century. That kind of a situation calls for good management, not ideological warfare. The phrase "It's the economy, stupid" came to symbolize the electorate's desire for politicians simply to keep the U.S. on an even keel.

In that ideological vacuum, parties still jockeyed for power, but they had to come up with excuses like the "culture war" to differentiate themselves. Ideological battles were fought over issues like abortion, the death penalty, gun control, and homosexuality - not trivial issues, but certainly not life-or-death for the nation. And all the while, America prospered.

That's what makes America's case in the late 20th century different from Hungary's now. Hungary is saddled with a combination of power-hungry factions and bad managers. This will eventually produce the kind of situation that will threaten the legitimacy of the political system itself, requiring people to return to strict ideologies as they battle for the future of their country.

Sadly, the same thing may happen here, if the next president imitates George Bush's disastrous policies.

Really, all any Hungarian politician cares about is pursuit of majority rule and therefore power and American politicians are no different. I am shocked.