Somebody: This sounds about right. This is why the industrializing countries of East Asia haven't seen the development of socialism or anarchism as the industrializing West did, once upon a time - because simply put, socialism was discredited by the experience of the People's Republic of China and Soviet Union. It's an obvious point, but it plays up the fact that this, not material circumstances, is the biggest obstacle to the radical left in the world today. And frankly, it's not clear to me that the conclusion they've reached is entirely incorrect. How do we know socialism is sustainable at this point, when it seems to inevitably implode or lead to state capture by aspiring capitalists?
I mean, not even Venezuelans want to move to Cuba-style socialism, as is evident in polling and from the fact that 11 years after the so-called Bolivarian revolution the country is capitalist, full stop.
Still, none of this explains why the working classes haven't moved decisively towards social democracy, or even thorough-going progressive politics. Instead, the proletariat in most developing countries seems to only demand piece-meal solutions: fuel subsidies in Kyrgyzstan and Iran, low interest agricultural loans in Thailand, shack-dwellers rights in South Africa, etc.
At the same time, newly industrializing countries, even in the absence of strong radical currents, tend to develop the rudiments of welfare states as they become middle income and upper income countries. China has recently massively increased public spending on health care, and is implementing a Rural Co-operative Medical Care System for the hundreds of millions who still live in the countryside, under which the central and provincial governments cover much of the costs of basic medical care. It's a pretty meager program, but the trend in China is to gradually develop a safety net that had largely disappeared with the smashing of the Iron Rice Bowl. Eventually, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up with social supports comparable to the industrialized East Asian tigers.