et cetera. So it's true that China did, in fact, liberalize its economy to some extent. But it liberalized on its own terms. It was not forcibly liberalized , which is what happened to the rest of the global South during the '80s and '90s under what
But it liberalized on its own terms. It was not forcibly liberalized , which is what happened to the rest of the global South during the '80s and '90s under what we call structural adjustment programs, which I'll try to describe a little bit later.
into European countries. The legal understanding of who really belongs has changed. Citizenship law has liberalized . A lot of people have embraced the idea that yes, of course somebody can be a true German irrespective of the fact that their parents or their grandparents
stores for the entire state. So but it's what's called a control state. California is one of the more liberalized states, because you can actually go to a grocery store and buy distilled spirits, but most states you can't, you know.
So this is a democrat in waiting. He's going to be the one who finally liberalizes China and embarks on political reform. And the basis for these claims was, in retrospect, fairly weak.
And we have now this kind of simultaneous, as I said, progress and regression. And the reason for this is in my view that society has become more liberalized , which is a good thing. But liberalization creates different outcomes in different fields.
and I hope you're keeping up with it. So in 1991, the economy liberalized . MTV came in, Coca-Cola came in, but also with that was this kind of influx of new ideas, foreign ideas. It was easier to travel. Everybody saw more of the world, and this new generation came up. A guy at Tata Consultancy Services which is one of Indian's big three IT firms called it "Generation WHY." So not Generation
they used the World Bank and IMF, which are controlled by the US Treasury, to roll out structural adjustment programs across the Global South. Now, these are programs that are basically designed to forcibly liberalize markets. And so they privatized public assets.
to mobilize, right? The big push to coordinate the supply chains. They want to be a leader in technology, but then the financial system is not liberalized .
there was a kind of frustration with what they felt was a half-assed version of what they were talking about. The government was saying, the party was saying, we believe in reforming and opening up, we need to liberalize , we need to give people more control of their fate. And the students felt that this was being done more effectively in the economic realm than in the political realm,
They were accomplished by state-led development policy, which is precisely against what the narrative celebrates, which is free market deregulation, et cetera, et cetera. So it's true that China did, in fact, liberalize its economy to some extent. But it liberalized on its own terms.
Wow. Involved with the book as well? And every economist who looked at the situation, France or Italy or Spain, said you have to liberalize your labor markets, but it's extremely difficult to do.
It's down to roughly 6%. Deng Xiaoping comes to power, and we see an opening, where political discourse has liberalized a little bit.
when Nehru became Prime Minister of India he was very much a socialist. He believed that India had to be self sufficient, had to do everything itself. He didn't believe in foreign imports, not only of objects but also ideas. In 1991, that began to change; India liberalized its economy. I'm sorry this is a really potted history, it's really quick and I hope you're keeping up with it.
that is really good at copying what other people are doing, but not so good at coming up with its own ideas. And India is in that state now, but just crossing the line in the same way that Japan did. So these kids who are now graduating, who have only lived in a liberalized India, are going to be the ones that think outside the box and create this new innovative society -- the kind of society that you have in San Francisco and Silicon Valley that is truly scientific and creative.
And the reason for this is in my view that society has become more liberalized , which is a good thing. But liberalization creates different outcomes in different fields. So if you deregulate or liberate the labor market, you are creating more inequality.