"But reusing the old label of "Communist China" misses the mark. I don't know what a better label would be."<p>They've created something new, and it seems to be very powerful.  By allowing some small-scale free-market enterprise at the local level, but keeping iron-fisted control at the top, they seem to be maximizing their competitiveness wrt the rest of the world, in a no-holds-barred fashion.<p>Our Western system is in some ways inherently too fair to compete effectively with this new scenario.  Not sure what that means but I suspect it isn't great if you're a big fan of western ideals, most particularly the idea that the rights of individuals should be paramount.<p>I sometimes wonder if Asian cultures simply don't believe that the way we do.  They seem to have a bit more of a 'hive mind' thing going on.  Europe and USA have had to deal with a crazy mix of cultures and ethnicities; not so much in Asia.