AND SOME CALL IT COMMUNISM?

For years and years socialists pointed out that Russia was not socialist. We were mocked by the left wing, but eventually they conceded that there were class divisions in Russia. Ah, said our opponents but at least in China we have a classless society. Our opposition to that viewpoint was met with derision but what is the position today? "Sales of luxury goods are exploding, despite a hefty tax on importing them. A new report by CLSA, a broker, forecasts that overall consumption in China (including boring everyday items) will rise by 11% annually over the next five years. .... But sales of luxury goods will grow more than twice as quickly, reckons CLSA: by 25% a year. No other category comes close. ... China is already the largest market for Louis Vuitton, a maker of surprisingly expensive handbags, accounting for 15% of its global sales. Within three years, reckons Aaron Fischer, the report's author, China's domestic market for bling will be bigger than Japan's. By 2020 it will account for 19% of global demand for luxuries." (Economist, 17 February) Our position is simple - all over the world we have capitalism no matter what the ruling elite may choose to call it. RD