Inside the Asylum

In yet more evidence that the Chinese aren't even pretending to be communist, and in fact are closer to unfettered capitalists than the "free west" a Chinese economist blasted Australian Labor Prime Minister Rudd for his ever-so-fashionable speech denouncing unfettered capitalism. There's nothing "fashionable" about that kind of liberal nonsense in China. As one Chinese girl commented to me a few months ago about Obama: "but we already tried that. Everyone in China knows that doesn't work."

Dr Xu Xaonian, economics professor at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, lambasted Mr Rudd's essay... Dr Xu maintained it was not time to resurrect Keynesianism, as proposed by Mr Rudd in the essay.

"Instead, it's time to announce Keynesianism's failure, time to announce the emperor Lord Keynes has no clothes," he said... "He wants to use expansionary financial policies to pull the economy out of recession. Instead, it will only add a fresh failure to the Keynesian list, while piling up votes, in the meantime, for the social democrats."

Although Mr Rudd's essay was "filled with conclusions contrary to facts and unfounded policy prescriptions", Dr Xu said it also represented "a popular post-downward trend, especially because it comes from a country's prime minister".

I couldn't have said it better myself. No seriously, I wouldn't have a chance in heck of saying it so well! Economically and politically flays that popularist nonsense being trumpeted by the likes of Obama and Rudd. He even joins CNBC in borrowing my emperor's no clothes analogy ... but that's ok ... he's welcome to it.

Turkey comes up with a brilliant move to clear landmines. If you clear the land of landmines, you get a 44 year lease on it. It's a move aimed at opening up a lot of land along the Syrian border that has been unavailable because of minefields.Turkey is required to remove about half a million mines left over from the 1950s by 2014 because it signed up to the Ottawa Convention.

Interestingly, the move, approved by Turkey's president, is sparking opposition because it seems that Israeli companies are about the only ones aiming to tender for the project.

This is interesting, and also evidence of something anyone who knows the Chinese knows. (If you'll pardon the horrible expression!) At their heart, most Chinese are basically rapid capitalists, and many aspects of the Chinese economy are extremely open and free, with people doing pretty much anything they want. Well, Chinese retailers are demonstrating that they really don't like regulatory interference in the way they conduct business. Nokia follows an extremely anti-competitive business model, and the Chinese have had enough of it. We'll sell your damn phones, but don't try to dictate how we do business.