A person't pedigree shouldn't influence their credibility. Right? I've noticed you've used this fact to establish her credibility a few times now. Great post.

Sure China is the next bubble to pop. It's following the Japanese mercantilist policy. But there's a good reason why it's best not to give any credence to the AEI. They represent US imperialism and power politics. Their studies have nothing to do with reality. Mere anecdotes, no hard data. It actually coincides pretty nicely with the hatchet job from the FT. The Chinese have been getting a little too big-headed. Time for the fourth branch of the government, the propaganda branch, to take them down a bit.

The contradictions in the system have become apparent. China is transitioning from a state capitalist system in which the contradictions were hidden to a system where the underlying greed and exploitation are flaunted. It was all there in the old system. The old party bosses lived the high life, while the peasantry and proles were exploited. But the exploitation was not as effective as it could be, and those that benefited needed to hide their riches behind Maoist uniforms. Now the system has become more effective and has political, legal, and moral justification to boot. So no, dialectical materialism is not dead, but in full effect.

I really don't understand. What does his grandmother's rising from a secretary to a VP have to do with his life prospects? She was a VP. I'm glad that she moved up in the world, but where she started has no bearing on where Obama started. And saying someone is a furniture salesman doesn't mean much. There are rich and there are poor furniture salemen. I'm not sure if you mean they were actually a middle class family. That goes against what I understood of the situation, but perhaps I'm wrong.

Terms when divorced of content are by defition worthless and empty. To show some examples, take your use of single-mom and scholarship-student. I have known people raised by single moms and I have known and been a scholarship student. These things imply adversity and struggle. They do not imply being raised in a privileged extended family and getting benefits while your privileged mother pursues a degree. This may sound harsh, and I understand that no one has an easy life. We all deal with this crazy thing called life. But your attempt to create a narrative of struggle where there is not one that would be commonly accepted or understood is wrong.

I thought that that idea was implicit in that statement. Obama is able to castigate a huge minority population because they happen to suffer from a higher rate of poverty, and thus many of the social ills that come along with it. My point is that there is an achievement gap not because kids want to be like Lebron or Lil' Wayne, but because there are inequities that are reproduced and strengthened by capitalism.

An intelligent person is able to read and comprehend. If you read my first post that is just what I was trying to convey. My second post is based on the fact that he grew up in a well-connected, wealthy, educated white family. These are complicated issues, for instance the whole mixed-race issue, and the way that Obama treats it is deplorable. He refuses to address the economic system which reproduces, at an ever greater rate, white power. Btw, I said nothing about Michelle Obama.

As for affirmative action and it's great benefits to minorities, this is such bs. I sometimes think it was a ploy by Nixon to galvanize whites. It is so weak as to be practically useless. It elevates a handful of people (remember this is a nation of 300 million) and really only barely. It is one factor to be considered. Along with things like legacy - if a relative went to a ivy league school you get some affirmative action - not even to include wealth and all of the benefits that come from that. Either we make the starting point comparable, or we do something at the end point. Otherwise don't talk about meritocracy or anything ridiculous like that because it is a fantasy, and a quite destructive one at that.

Obama has walked the walk? What are you talking about. He has lived an incredibly privileged life.

Compare criminality, drug use, school performance, etc of poor blacks and poor whites - not much difference. I'd like to see Palin or Mccain go up to a group of these people - "white people, you need to take personal responsibility." Forget castigation, it's just an absurd notion. Unemployment rate in NYC - 3.3% for whites, almost 15% for blacks. Take personal responsibility for that right? That's not systemic, it's because all blacks want to rap or play basketball right?

Just started Hobsbawm's The Age of Revolution. He says that Dr. Pangloss' optimism really springs from the burgeoning Industrial Revolution, and the future promise of unlimited growth and human prosperity. So perhaps even he would be a little glum today? A little glum, but human ingenuity has not been dampened. Cheers, great articles as usual.

Headline should say CIA puts out U.S.-style Web video purporting to be a candidate of the people. Ah mistaken tool of empire, when will you learn?

Yes, firms bill by the hour. The small number of partners running the firm reap the profits. All of the associates (who vastly outnumber partners) are salaried. Thus, their pay does not increase no matter how many hours they work, and yet they are bankruptcy attorneys.

I wonder if these statistics take into account longer hours being wrung out of salaried employees (for example bankruptcy attorneys)? If not, it seems as though actual remunerated work would be falling even faster - salaried workers being forced to put in more hours for the same pay, while being offset by an even greater loss in hourly work, which is actually paid.