Ramblings on the Power of Capitalism

I grew up in an environment where distrust of business was the norm. In the city of Asheville, North Carolina, everyone would like to imagine that the world can be run by good will alone. Movements like "Food Not Bombs" feed anyone who wants to eat for free and whole living rooms can be decorated using the contents of a Bed Bath and Beyond dumpster (I would know). If something cannot be done on the cheap or by hand, than it's almost not worth doing.

This is the perspective that I brought to Asia. And to a large degree, it is a perspective I still hold. There is something romantic and cowboy-esque about the ambition to be self-sufficient, efficient, and to live “off the grid.”

But Asheville is not the subject of this blog post, China is.

In the past few months, I have begun work on editing a book about China’s legal reform over the last three decades. Parts of it have it, of course, have been quite tedious (lists of laws…) but other parts have struck me, the same way a Freshman in college is struck by their first encounter with f-ing brilliant professor. I suppose that’s no surprise, as the chapters are all written by Chinese legal scholars.

My most profound realization is related to the overwhelmingly influential power of international business in determining the course of China’s politics. The desire to join the WTO, participate in global trade as an equal, and be invited to all the cool parties, has forced China’s government to “step up.” There have been decades of political pressure internally trying to push the government toward reform, but it honestly has had little effect, especially in achieving actual systematic (reforms of laws, etc.) reform. The most influential force has been the norms established by the international trading community. This is easy to see when one takes an analytical angle at China’s legal development. Which areas of Chinese law are the most developed? Law pertaining to trade! Which areas of Chinese law are least likely to be completely subject to the “rule of man”? Trade and business.
Put simply, China’s desire to make money has forced it to “play ball” with a set of values it would otherwise have never approached. The implications for this are huge. For me, it has been the first time I’ve realized, and actually been able to internalize, why organizations like the WTO exist and what they do. When the “international business community,” as vague as that notion is, makes a decision or reform, it becomes universalized among all member nations.

Some could look at this and see reason to be scared. In the past and at present, there are situations where international financial organizations have left room (a lot of room) for improvement. But I believe their power to promote democracy and rule of law cannot be denied.