Yesterday, BBC Radio 4's "In Business" Programme hosted a special debate on the present world financial crisis. Various eminent professionals took part, but the main discussion was between a leading financier and a well-known economist, with the boss of a major firm of consulting engineers promoting a rather optimistic view of his business in Britain. He looked forward to a large amount of government-generated construction projects. Meanwhile the economist confirmed that there was still a lot of "free" capital in the world, but most of it is in Russia and China. The financier, however, offered a rather bleak outlook for most people.
On reflection, a composite "future" emerged from this discussion, which sounded rather like life in the former Soviet Union, with bureaucrats and technocrats doing rather well for themselves and the rest of society not faring too well at all. Iceland, I note, has already found "a new friend", to quote their prime minister, in Russia. However, if modern Chinese state capitalism is your preferred "business model", I would point you in the direction of George Walden's book, "China : A Wolf in the World ? "; and again remind readers of The Twilight of the God's (see below) wherein the Wolf Skoll eats the sun, recalling Walden's account of air pollution in Beijing.
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