Even if one is interested only in one's own society, which is one's prerogative, one can understand that society much better by comparing it with others.

East Asia confirms the superior capacity of industrial capitalism in raising the material standard of living of large masses of people.

It has been true in Western societies and it seems to be true elsewhere that you do not find democratic systems apart from capitalism, or apart from a market economy, if you prefer that term

Some people think that as the Chinese economy becomes more and more capitalistic it will inevitably become more democratic

Institutions provide procedures through which human conduct is patterned, compelled to go, in grooves deemed desirable by society. And this trick is performed by making these grooves appear to the individual as the only possible ones.

When certain branches of the economy become obsolete, as in the case of the steel industry, not only do jobs disappear, which is obviously a terrible social hardship, but certain cultures also disappear.

But we don't have an example of a democratic society existing in a socialist economy - which is the only real alternative to capitalism in the modern world.