[quote=FlyerInHi]
What I don’t understand is the general negativity regarding China. Don’t the free markets dictate that we should up our game and give a better deal to countries around the world? If our deals better, then China doesn’t have a chance.[/quote]
You are convoluting free market ‘capitalism’ with ‘laissez faire’.
Capitalism is premised on a market such that the best option for best price will win. Core to its premise is operating on equal footing. Patents break capitalism to some degree, but are needed to promote innovation. Different tax structures, minimum wages and other laws can also make the footing upon which companies operate unequal. Monopolies are almost an antithesis of capitalism. With a total monopoly, you have complete pricing ability and don’t have to compete on value or innovation.
‘laissez faire’ litterally means ‘leave it alone’. Effectively, no rules. Monopolies are expected, and the system can easily evolve to corporatocracy.
China has, for all intents an purposes, no minimum wage. A person can rarely succeed on merits, it based more on connections, particularly to the communist party. China has no environmental protection laws, it lends its companies money at a very cheap rate and does not honor foreign IP. It is very difficult to compete with countries so structured when your country has environment laws, minimum wage, OSHA etc.
