My sense too.
I do not deny the importance of Martin's question
"The issue here is whether Chinese workers are benefiting from this ongoing shift to a foreign driven export led growth model."
But in terms of geo-politics this looks like a pivotal moment.
The Chinese have still a unified power system, however you define it in class terms, and they can coordinate how they deploy the capital at their disposal on a massive scale.
It is highly debatable, to say the least, that it is even a form of socialism, but in terms of capital being ultimately a social relation, this is monopoly finance capital being wielded on a world scale against the hegemonism of the US, very cunningly. I cannot see how the US can escape the snare. The Chinese can be quite sophisticated in how they tweak the noose very occasionally, eg with the sudden absence of bond buyers in the market, studiously NOT connected with any public policy comment.
Whether it ultimately provides conditions for a more socialist world and the overthrow of the power of capital as dead labour, will be highly contested territory.
Chris Burford London
----- Original Message ----- From: "Max B. Sawicky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 2:06 PM Subject: Re: [PEN-L] in hock to the Chinese
Marty's comments are all well-taken, but I think he understates a tad the Chinese advantage.
Yes the Chinese need to sell into the U.S., but in this vein they are riding the wave of free- trade policy originating in the U.S., plus the U.S. appetite for imports. At the same time they can diddle with their holdings and purchases of U.S. Gov bonds under no restrictions. I would say in this way they have fingertip control of interest rate deviations.
They don't have to cause any large change or suffer from it. All they have to do is jiggle the table a bit to neutralize any annoying U.S. overtures.
Between this and North Korea, it looks like they have Bush by the short hairs.
mbs
-----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Martin Hart-Landsberg Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 6:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [PEN-L] in hock to the Chinese
