Changing China's Comrades to Consumers

Is Chinese consumerism like Chinese democracy - a seemingly unachievable dream? The capitalist hordes hope not.

Traditionally the Chinese have been savers, and when they do open the qiánbāo, they do so to spend on assets like education and health rather than acquiring things they don't need (they will have to learn that). 

Will the culture that gifted the world with paper, printing, the compass, postal system and so much more, accept our return gift of conspicuous consumption and gross wealth inequality? 

To me, the Chinese are too smart for consumerism. If anyone can fend off the alluring attack of the invading capitalists, it should be the world's oldest continuous civilization.

In 2017 the global savings rate was 26%. The US rate was 19%, while personal savings in China were 46% of GDP, down from 52% in 2008. Before comrades can shrug off that stodgy label for the glinting new moniker of consumer, they will need to be trained and shamed to spend all they've got, and more.

After years of having the best performing economy globally, the mass of Chinese still seem unconvinced of the wisdom of buying stuff you may like, and may be nice, but that you don't actually need. 

Their economy continues to be largely based on the import/export system and investment rather than on what their people buy. Only about 36% of the Chinese economy is due to private consumption (and that figure actually fell between 2000 and 2010).

Such inconvenient data won't discourage the government. Boosting the masses "desire to consume" is an official goal, and if their experience is anything like ours, they will spend trillions of renminbi to brainwash the collective and manufacture that desire. 

Corporate vultures around the world are salivating at the prospects of all those comrades learning to lust after useless things, thus creating the largest consumer market in the world. 

The problem, of course that we will need another planet's worth of resources if they are successful. 

Also, more basically, it has become obvious that an economy based on consumerism isn't actually human progress, and only makes life comfortably awful for a while - for the lucky ones.

Chinese authorities want to make the shift to a consumer-based economy. In order to do that, they will need to stimulate their comrades consumption until it makes up about 75% (up from 36%) of economic activity. Like in the US or Canada.

My hope is that they will have the self control, wisdom, and insight that western culture lacks, and reject a system that is depleting and degrading the planet, and the human soul, one consumer at a time.