China - makers of the miracle

A note from the editor

Richard Swift

Tide of change coming

In a world battered by debt and speculation crises the Chinese economic miracle remains one of the few bright spots on the horizon of traditional economists. There is a preoccupation in the ‘dismal science’ (as Victorian historian Thomas Carlyle dubbed economics) with all things Chinese that can add or knock off hundreds of points on global stock markets on any particular day.

The exchange rate of the yuan, the latest Chinese inflation numbers and how they affect interest charges, issues of intellectual property rights or protectionism have become the daily fare of the economic tea-leaf- readers. But what has been left out of this calculus until recently is the price of labour.

Now Chinese workers are starting to change all that as they organize against a system that treats them as cheap and expendable commodities. China’s workers are announcing the end of the cheap labour model that has fuelled the biggest manufacturing boom in history.

Spreading out from the Pearl River Delta in South China to the rest of the country is a movement that even the draconian censors of the Communist Party cannot keep quiet. In this edition we listen to what these workers have to say, particularly to Western consumers so hungry for inexpensive Chinese clothes and electronics. ‘At what cost?’ they demand to know.

Elsewhere in this issue Mark Engler tackles the $700 billion US military budget and questions why even the hint of a suggestion of a cut (at a time when many citizens must tighten their belts) is so taboo.

We also return to the Yasuní National Park, to find out how Ecuador’s bold plan to leave its oil in the ground – in return for compensation from the international community – is faring.

Richard Swift for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

 Stringer Shanghai / Reuters

Stringer Shanghai / Reuters

Whose miracle?

An epic migration to the cities has been responsible for China’s turbocharged economic performance. But, as Richard Swift explains, the cost for many workers has been too great and they refuse to be quiet any longer.

Buy this magazine



Features

President Correa passionately promoted the Yasuní initiative at the Cancún climate summit last December; but doubts remain about his commitment.Miguel Romero / Presidencia de la República del Ecuador

Oil or life? Ecuador’s stark choice

Esme McAvoy is in the Amazon to find out what’s happening to the Yasuní proposal.

Buy this magazine

This graphic is part of the Swiss-based Public Eye campaign to elect the world’s worst corporation. Foxconn is a 2011 nominee.Greenpeace

iSlave

Electronics giant Foxconn employs over a million people in China – in conditions that drive them to despair, reports Jenny Chan.

Buy this magazine

When the US is involved in, say, Iraq or Afghanistan, that's called ‘stabilization’. If Iran tries to increase its influence, that's destabilization.Mohammed Ameen/Reuters

New book by Noam Chomsky

Beware Americans talking ‘stability’, warns Noam Chomsky.

Buy this magazine

Capturing the moment when protestors at Tahrir Square learned that Mubarak was finally standing down.Yannis Behrakis/ Reuters

When people rise up...

As the ripples of rebellion spread through the Arab world, what’s next for democracy?

Buy this magazine

Honda workers demand better pay and democratic unions: 500 striking autoworkers sparked a strike wave that shook south China in the summer of 2010.Siu Chiu/Reuters

Hard road to justice

Three personal stories of the battles being fought for workers’ rights.

Buy this magazine


Web exclusives

Professor Ilan Pappé.Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

Reframing the Israel-Palestine conflict

‘Israel is not a democracy,’ said Israeli professor, historian and political activist Ilan Pappé in this interview with Frank Barat.

Read this article


Alternatives

A taste of Utopia

A taste of Utopia

It may be a leap of faith, but John Jordan and Isa Fremeaux are determined to try living the good life

Buy this magazine


Blogs

New Internationalist acquired by Rupert Murdoch

New Internationalist acquired by Rupert Murdoch

New Internationalist magazine, published since 1973 has been acquired by Rupert Murdoch's News International group.

Read this article


Opinion

Is 'ethical wealth' a contradiction?

Is 'ethical wealth' a contradiction?

Lush Cosmetics owner Mark Constantine and activist- artist Paul Fitzgerald go head to head in this month’s debate.

Buy this magazine

Taboo economics

Taboo economics

Marc Engler has a taboo solution to the US’s economic woes.

Buy this magazine


Agenda


Regulars

Jack Mapanje Keith Pattinson

Jack Mapanje

Searching for timeless truths, enjoying freedom and watching snowflakes – poet Jack Mapanje tells Rowenna Davis about life after prison.

Buy this magazine

Bearing witness Illustration: Sarah John

Bearing witness

Maria Golia savours a moment of extraordinary clarity for Egypt.

Buy this magazine


Back