The Maoists today live only outside China

ASIA: "Nepal's political crisis: How fierce will the Maoists be now?" The Economist, 9 May 2009.

INTERNATIONAL: "Captors of the Liberated Zone: A personal visit to a part of India where Mao-spouting armed rebels are the law," by Sudip Mazumdar, Newsweek, 11-18 May 2009.

It is truly weird to see China ruled by a Capitalist Party and Maoists flourishing elsewhere in Asia.

Comments

[Matt R.]

Are the conditions described in the second article a reason why countries like India and China aren't yet ready for primetime? Or atleast the conditions in remote areas of the country drive an internal perception that they shouldn't branch out. Have your own house in order before telling your neighbor to cut his grass kinda thing. America was branching out long before our internal strife was at a relative minimum.

To me, interesting thoughts come up. Can we measure internal strife? Is there some magic number at which developing countries get the warm and fuzzy to branch out. How can we change the game WRT the underlying factors to get progress toward that "magic number"?

[Marauder Doc]

The US wasn't ready for primetime, nor were our rural regions particularly developed when WWI came calling. I think China has reached the point where in any global crisis, it will have a voice and an opinion worth considering. Whether or not it will replace the US as a global leader is doubtful, they simply lack the logistical capability to project military force anywhere near our level. (Their ability to export Civilian-Industrial Force is another story.)

I don't pay too much attention to Nepal, Maoist-type counter-parties are the natural balance to such strict dictatorships. And in the recent Indian elections, the Communists got kicked out of the ruling coalition. It's primarily a region phenomenon, and has little to do with ideology.