Live by the market, die by the market

Another article for NBCNEWS.com indicates a couple of things that Americans ought to keep in mind. One is obvious, but the other maybe not so much.

First, of course, is the simple, but always bitter, realization that what goes up eventually comes down; and nothing more so than stock markets. Two point eight trillion dollars, however, is one hell of a lot of down, only this time its the Chinese who are getting re schooled on the axiom.

The other thing, though, that might no be so obvious here is this: We, as a nation, always have this tendency to see new economic competitors as the bogey man, and nearly at our door to kick it down. They will take over everything just as the Japanese were supposed to have done.

The trouble, of course, is that we see these "others" as a monolithic engine of unfettered success, for whatever reason, that cannot be stopped. The problem, though, is that they are seldom without a wide range of deep, social, or material, fault lines that we always gloss over. All the more surprising when one takes an even casual look at Chinese history. So large. So dispersed by language and material well being throughout the centuries. When their fault lines give way they suffer cultural and economic shock waves unlike any other nation.

And now, with the income disparity there making ours look paltry, you just bet the government elites are starting to sweat at their choice of embracing state run Capitalism. I don't envy them or the peasant masses.

China's Plunging Markets: Retail Investors Stunned by Rout