In The New York Times today, Yilu Zhao comments on the ever growing class disparity between the rich and the poor, the have’s and the have not’s.
“This is the dark side to China’s new wealth: Envy, insecurity and social dislocation have come with the huge disparity between how the wealthy live and how the vast numbers of poor do. Clear signs of class division have emerged under a government that long claimed to have eliminated economic classes.”
“There are other ways in which the oddly mixed and cynical legacy of Chinese Marxism presents difficulties for anyone who would try to redistribute wealth. The reform era began with concepts like “truth,” “kindness” and “beauty” already devalued; in the Maoist period, people learned to scoff at such notions. For a few decades, Communist ideals like saving humanity from capitalist oppression had displaced Confucian teachings like respecting the elderly. That left a moral vacuum when Communism’s grip loosened, and nothing has yet emerged to fill it.”
The draconian pains that stem from the transition from a developing country to a first world country have not been ameliorated. However, are these economical effects spurred on by corruption in the government or are there other factors, like the natural economic laws of the present day?
