Adair Turner — China vs. the Washington Consensus

Neoliberalism versus market socialism with Chinese characteristics. Which wins?

Since Deng introduced market socialism, China has been kicking butt in terms of growth rate, defying neoliberal predictions, while neoliberal economies have been mired since the 2008 crisis.

What's up with that? Adair Turner explains.

What is overlooks, however, is the history of the US, which adopted the American System over the British system as a result of Alexander Hamilton's influence and followed up with the National System of Friedrich List. 

China is following a similar path while hewing one that is suitable for the conditions that China faces. Seems to be working just like — like the US after the founding. Surprise.

Turner appears to be in the right ball park in contrast to most Western economists analyzing China, but even he seems to miss the obvious point that the huge and "potentially bad" debt extended by the state to state owned countries is actually public investment and that the only constraints are availability of real resources and inflation, neither of which presents any serious issues at present. Hand-wringing over this debt is comparable to hand-wriging over the size of the public debt of the US or Japan. It's irrelevant.

Project Syndicate
China vs. the Washington Consensus

Adair Turner

See also


China’s Contradictions
Stephen S. Roach