>Hell, people call Russia neoliberal even though the
>government gives benefits to over half the population
>and not only subsidizes its own economy with
>below-market gas and oil, but even the economies of
>several other countries. (Ukraine buys gas from Russia
>at a lower price than Russian consumers pay for it, if
>I remember correctly! Ditto Georgia.)
A normal foreign tourist visits Delhi, views Taj Mahal at Agra and moves on to Jaipur/Udaipur in Rajasthan. Radical tourists visit Mumbai slums and brothels ! Pilger is a good example of a radical tourist !
There are two types of Marxists in the world. (I am putting it very schematically.) These two types are: a) Marxists who are against capitalism because it is a system based on exploitation (surplus value extraction) and b) Marxists who oppose capitalism because it can not produce "growth" (ie, capital accumulation), particularly in the Third World. For the latter type of Marxists, it is absolutely necessary to deny there is "growth" under capitalism, particularly in the Third World. This view is inevitably combined with permanent gloating over "growth" under socialism, since socialism alone can produce "growth".
Ulhas