Outside the Beltway

China’s Economy Is Similar to That of France?

Dave Schuler · Friday, May 28, 2010 · 3 comments

To echo Brad DeLong, why, oh why, don’t we have a better pundit class?

There is a similarity between the economy of China and that of France. Matt Yglesias doesn’t know anything about either one of them.

FILED UNDER: Open Forum, Brad DeLong, China, France, Matt Yglesias, Matthew Yglesias

About Dave Schuler

Over the years Dave Schuler has worked as a martial arts instructor, a handyman, a musician, a cook, and a translator. He's owned his own company for the last thirty years and has a post-graduate degree in his field. He comes from a family of politicians, teachers, and vaudeville entertainers. All-in-all a pretty good preparation for blogging. He has contributed to OTB since November 2006 but mostly writes at his own blog, The Glittering Eye, which he started in March 2004.

Comments

Michael says:

Friday, 28 May 2010 at 12:44

Thanks for the in-depth commentary Dave, the weight of your argument is undeniable.
Dave Schuler says:

Friday, 28 May 2010 at 13:25

“Quick Takes” aren’t essays, Michael.

The differences are so huge that the comparison is absurd. China has hundreds of millions of peasant farmers earning less than a dollar a day. France’s farmers are a far smaller proportion of the populace and are frequently quite prosperous. Nearly every major company in China is state-owned. France has a handful of state-owned companies, mostly in transport and communications.

France is quite egalitarian; 90% of China’s wealth is in the hands of 10,000 people.

These are just a handful of immediate differences. No knowledgeable person could make the analogy.
Michael says:

Friday, 28 May 2010 at 14:56

“Quick Takesâ€ aren’t essays, Michael.

Then please don’t use them to criticize other people’s ideas. If I wanted to read people writing “is not”, there are plenty of horrible blogs on the Internet I could go to. I come to OTB specifically expecting non-horrible posts (from the authors at least)