If you’re an American and enjoy living in your capitalist, laissez-faire economy, then I have a holiday choice for you: consider China. Why? There is more similarity between the average Chinese and the average American than you would like to believe. Here are the top ten similarities:
1. Large scale migrations: whereas Chinese people migrate from rural to urban areas (or special economic zones) for fun and work, Americans do so too by moving house every two years or so.
2. Over-reliance on trucks, cars and Wal-marts: neither government cares much about pollution, but the Chinese also use trains as a medium of transport, which is a plus. Wal-marts are a given.
3. Cultural insularity: either speak a Chinese dialect or speak English or have no friends. Both countries view themselves as superior. Both have inferiority complexes. Americans to Europeans, Chinese to Americans.
4. Large populations immune to reason: both countries have a large percentage of the population who will not reason with you. Stems from limited awareness of their surroundings.
5. Lack of social safety nets: both Chinese and Americans are equally concern about health care and pensions (yes, even in communist China), perhaps for different reasons.
