The Oil Drum

Hello Everyone,

Evidence that China is drinking the kool-aide of consumerism:

Cashing In on Communism

In the land of Mao, getting rich is finally glorious. It's also complicated.

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, SHI XIAOYAN SOLD 17 OF HER 20 CARS. That left her with just the Porsches -- a Boxster and the 911 Turbo -- in the garage downstairs. Shi, who also goes by Celia, is the founder and chief executive of Illinois, the Beijing-based home furniture chain, and No. 21 on a list of the richest women in China, with a reported total wealth, along with her husband, Ye Mingqin, of $125 million. These days, she drives a $38,000 convertible Mini Cooper.

"I drive an economic car -- saves gas," she explains. "You know, you have to save something for your next generation; you shouldn't spend everything."

The next generation, of course, includes Shi's son Jason, 11. Three years ago, for his eighth birthday, Jason got a Subaru Impreza, which he had customized and regularly drives at his father's racetrack.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/13/AR200702...

I consider the statement, "You know, you have to save something for your next generation; you shouldn't spend everything" an unintentional morbid irony. The next generation is going to lose a lot more than gasoline. But this party will continue until it cannot continue any longer.

The Chinese have become consumers and they are trashing the Earth in the same manner as the obese American hyperconsumer. That's progress for you. Too bad for the Earth. But the Earth will recover, so too bad for humankind.

Since then, the booming Chinese economy has been one of the biggest stories in the world. Wealth and conspicuous consumption are climbing in a country where the average per-capita income has only just jumped to $145 a month (in Beijing, it's $209 a month). On the mainland, about 175 million, or 13.5 percent, of consumers have become what many Chinese scholars consider to be middle class, earning as much as $30,000 a year, the China Association of Branding Strategy reported recently. These consumers have managed to accumulate significant savings, yet often spend an entire month's salary on a single luxury item: a wallet, a watch or jewelry.

That group is expected to grow within 10 years to nearly 260 million, or 20 percent of the population, said Lu Xueyi, a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences professor. By then, China could be the world's biggest luxury market, analysts predict.

The Chinese are emulating Americans. They are becoming consumerism addicts and oil addicts and polluting the entire globe. What does it say when a five thousand year old culture begins to copy the insane excesses of a declining two-hundred year old culture?

There are a depressing photo album associated with this story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/galleries/021507/china/index....

The Chinese are every bit as vain and foolish as Americans. There is no cause for optimism in this world. Global civilization is fading fast: Humans are burning up the Earth for the sake of fashion, comfort and luxury.

David Mathews
http://www.geocities.com/dmathew1