Watching a news program last night, I heard a commentator call China the "Capitalist of the Year." There is little doubt that this might be true given that in a worldwide recession, China is projected to grow (economically) 9% in 2010. More interesting is the feeling of hope in a country that under Mao and up to the 1980s suffered devastingly poverty under the planned economies of the government. 
The difference is certainly the integration of capitalism, which has jump started the growth. But they still live under a very centralized communist regime that is politically autocratic. The image of Tiannemen Square in 1989 is still vivid for many. The government still routinely suppresses information and news (such as, pictures of the famous Tiannemen Square incident).
Yet, a greater number of Chinese are as well off and hopeful as ever because of the freedom that economic capitalism causes. The engine of business, in fact, can be more liberating than all the political freedoms we associate with democracies around the world. Admittedly, democracy is preferable to dictatorship, but the former without a robust market economy can be less appealing than an autocratic regime that employs a thriving, market-based economy. It is popular to decry the faults of the market, but despite these faults (and there are some), it is still better than the alternatives. Ask China.
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