Surviving State Capitalism

strategy + business (Kliener) - How level a playing field will corporations find when entering new markets in the future? According to Ian Bremmer, not very level, at least not for a while. Bremmer is the founder and president of Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. In his new book, The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations? (Portfolio, 2010), he suggests that the global financial meltdown accelerated an already powerful trend: the rise of state capitalism. Government-run companies, state-favored firms, and sovereign wealth funds in places like China and the Middle East are enjoying new prominence and success. They compete in new ways (and, in some cases, old mercantile ways) against the relatively free market–oriented economies of the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Economist - Even before the crisis the Chinese felt that history was moving in their direction. Russia’s experiment with laissez-faire had proved to be a debacle. Financial problems had emerged with sickening regularity. And throughout this turmoil China had succeeded in combining an astonishing rate of growth with social stability. Now it is using its $2.3 trillion in foreign reserves to help prop up America’s profligacy...There are good reasons for thinking that state capitalism will eventually collapse as a result of what Marxists used to call its internal contradictions. But at the moment it looks as if eventually may be some way off.