> A paradox of evaluating China's
> development from the left is that while polarization has increased
> enormously, average incomes have also increased, though not as much as
> those of the gazillionaires. Also, big diff between urban and rural; rural
> China has done rather badly over the last 20 years,
> while a lot of the urban working class has done better.
One qualification: the rural areas have done badly only relative to the booming eastern cities. China's rural development is impressive by any measure -- real incomes, living standards and health indicators have risen for the rural regions at a breath-taking clip, just not as quickly as the high-growth coast. Severe malnutrition has almost completely vanished from the Chinese countryside, especially impressive compared to rural India, where 40% or more of all kids are malnourished to this day.
-- DRR