>> The developmental state is the gateway of 21st century
>> socialism. This is the fundamental reality of contemporary geopolitics.
>
> This is a very interesting idea. Could you elaborate on it?
>
> That countries like Venezuela or Russia are benefiting largely from
> the cycle of commodity prices (amplified by the bubble and coming bust of
> the commodity derivatives market) is true, but that doesn't apply to
> China.
I wouldn't call the boost in oil prices a bubble - there's been speculative froth on top of a genuine increase in demand, due to fast growth in China, Eurasia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
What's happening is truly world-historic. After the bitter experience of 30 years of neoliberal immiseration, the semi-periphery has broken its IMF shackles and is forging institutions (developmental states) capable of channeling its export and energy surplus into indigenous development. There isn't any single model for these states, they're quite different in scale, scope and sophistication, but they exist, and are evolving with amazing speed. Check out the scale and scope of the sovereign wealth funds:
http://www.swfinstitute.org/funds.php
Throw in massive foreign exchange reserves, and the semi-periphery now has the economic muscle and political coordination to industrialize.
-- DRR