Zambian-born economist Dambisa Moyo has a very interesting take on China's role as a model for emerging economies. She is so thoughtful, insightful and well-spoken that it's difficult to dismiss her analysis with a Sinophobic waive of the arm. I&i second her observation that people who are still in need of basic food resource security, electrification, and fundamental economic opportunities are not very concerned about concepts like "democracy" and free elections. If offered a strong leader who can provide economic development for them, they will be grateful and often willingly accept a diminution of political rights in exchange. This is not to promote or endorse one system over another, as Dambisa clearly prefers liberal democracy, but simply to state the reality of the human condition. Her notion that economic fundamentals and security are prerequisites for liberal democracy rather than products of it is very insightful and underscores the failure of American (or "Western") foreign policies.
Dambisa's 16 minute TED conference address can be viewed at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q2aznfmcYU
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