But China’s physical engineering accomplishments on the supply side have not been transferable to social engineering efforts on the demand side, especially in stimulating consumer demand.
The disconnect arises out of the modern Chinese political system, which emphasises stability and control. While this focus has enabled the country to become the world’s ultimate producer, it has not been successful in uncovering the DNA of the Chinese consumer.
Social engineering through government diktat stands in sharp contrast to the incentive-based, freewheeling, individualistic spirit that shapes human behaviour and consumption patterns in the West.
The American experience, as famously documented in John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Affluent Society, decodes the DNA of a consumer society. Key characteristics include upwards mobility of income and wealth, open communication and dissemination of information, individualism and freedom of choice, diminished inequality of lifestyles, intergenerational wealth transfers and the ability to elect political representatives. Western consumerism is very much an aspirational proposition.
