I am intrigued by what's happening in China.
- "it doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, if it catches mice it is a good cat."
there was a real go-along to getalong mentality among the Communist Party pretty much up until Xi Jinping. Unfortunately the nitrous oxide boost of dragging an agrarian economy into the 20th century ran out right about the time China hit the middle income trap. Things go two ways from here: you push over the hump through reform of markets, democracy and society and become Korea, Taiwan or Japan, or you clamp down on the dissent that pops up and sink back to Venezuela or Brazil.
I'n'I have read me some history. Innovators are world powers and world powers are innovators. Economic reform does not happen without social reform and social reform does not happen with electoral reform and the difference between England and Spain in the 1500s is England embraced mercantilism and Spain embraced monarchy.
Xi Jinping would rather be Generalissimo Franco than Lee Kwan Yew. And historically? The Chinese prefer it that way.