The simple fact is almost no one intrinsically wants to be a factory worker. We are now into the 2nd or 3rd generation of the Asian industrial revolution, and wages will have to increase to keep people in the factories. This may boost demand but it may also lead to a profitability crisis; where that inflection point is in a nation's capitalist development is not set in stone.
----2'New strikes in France over retirement age' - AP
If people wonder why the French have a lower retirement age.
----3'Chinese Leader Fields Executives’ Questions' - New York Times
And Bill Gates complains: “I’ll mention one thing that is not going well, and that’s related to the enforcement of intellectual property, such as copyright. If you look at the numbers, over the last five years there hasn’t been much progress.” ...Question: Has Bill Gates ever actually talked to a regular person in the developing world or China ? They could give a rat's ass about some billionaire's precious property rights.
----4'Only in Japan, Real Men Go to a Hotel With Virtual Girlfriends ' - WSJ; Wakabbayashi
There were plenty of sci-fi books written about this scenario in the 50's and 60's. The Asian penchant or demand for light-skinned women can be seen in the article's pictures. Discrimination by skin color is endemic in Asia, and pretty much out in the open and socially 'accepted', as are skin lightening products. A very obvious attitudinal difference between Asian-American and Asian-born women is their attitude to skin color and use or lack of use of these products. An uncomfortable topic, but very real and somewhat interesting. To me it illustrates the fact that while economic development has moved at a breakneck speed in Asia, politics and social relations remain stagnant. That dichotomy can't continue much longer.
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