Mark Weisbrot does a pretty good takedown of Obama’s bogus claims to the UN last week that “globalization”, “free markets”, and US-designed trade deals and US-dominated institutions are mainly responsible for the significant reduction in official global poverty measures.
It’s widely accepted that China’s rapid development, not US-inspired policies, accounts for the rise in living standards - not only at home, but also in other developing countries whose export-led economic growth has been driven by increased Chinese demand.
Weisbrot also correctly notes that the ascendency of China was led by its dominant state sector, not by private market forces.
He neglects to mention, however, the dark side of China’s spectacular growth: the extreme rise in social inequality, continued suppression of independent trade union activity and other democratic rights, and the steady trend towards privatization of the public sector and turn to domestic and foreign private investment.