Chart of the day: India needs spectacular growth no less than China
Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 12:01AM
Thomas P.M. Barnett in Chart of the day, India, development

WSJ front-pager.

Point to remember:  India needs to score in that magic 8 percent ranger to continue cranking enough new jobs--just like China.

In the West, I think we just don't appreciation what a grind that it for them, since we haven't been in that phase of growth for decades now (having matured).  But this is a huge deal for the planet:  between China and India we're talking about a billion and a half poor people that the West doesn't need to worry about--by and large.  They may be poor, but things are improving and there's no great unrest.  Absent the government efforts to make that fabulous growth happen, we could easily end up owning that aggregate problem on some level (aid or worse).

Something to remember as we contemplate our duty in helping run this world:  a huge chunk of responsibility has been taken off our plate by India's and China's rise, and all we have to do is shape their trajectory for the betterment of the world.

And these are good problems/challenges to have--as in, they beat the hell out of the alternative, especially since India and China joining the global economy gave it its critical mass over the pass couple of decades.

So I say, always err on the side of letting them have their way while they're pursuing this unbelievable collective good for the planet.  Push where we can, but always keep in mind what a win their twin rise represents for our international liberal trade order-cum-globalization.

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