Intelligence Squared US

Tuesday, March 13

CHINA DOES CAPITALISM BETTER THAN AMERICA

Tuesday, March 13

Reception:5:45 - 6:30 PM

Debate:6:45 - 8:30 PM

NYU Skirball Center
566 LaGuardia Place
at Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012

Tickets:

About This Debate

For all appearances, China has emerged unscathed from the global economic crisis, in stark contrast to its biggest debtor, America. China’s admirers point to its ability to mobilize state resources, quick decision-making and business-friendly environment as reasons for its economic ascendency. But can its brand of state-directed capitalism overcome rampant corruption and the threat of growing inequality, or will the American model of innovation and free markets prevail? *Panelists subject to change.

The Panel

For The Motion

  • Orville Schell
    Orville Schell
    FOR THE MOTION
    Orville Schell
    Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society & Award-Winning Journalist


    The former professor and Dean at the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, Orville Schell is the Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations at Asia Society in New York. The author of fourteen books, nine of them about China, Schell worked for the Ford Foundation in Indonesia, covered the war in Indochina as a journalist, and has traveled widely in China since the mid-70s. He is a Fellow at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University, a Senior Fellow at the Annenberg School of Communications at USC and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Schell was a Fellow at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and the recipient of many prizes and fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Overseas Press Club Award, and the Harvard-Stanford Shorenstein Prize in Asian Journalism.

  • Peter Schiff
    Peter Schiff
    FOR THE MOTION
    Peter Schiff
    CEO & Chief Global Strategist, Euro Pacific Capital


    Peter Schiff is CEO & Chief Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital. He accurately and publically predicted the bursting of the housing market and the subsequent collapse of the financial sector and the broader U.S. economy. A staple figure in the media, he appears frequently on CNBC, Fox Business, CNN, and Fox News. He is the author of several books, including the bestselling Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse, and an upcoming book, The Real Crash: A Blueprint for a Bankrupt America. Schiff served as an economic advisor to Ron Paul in 2008 and in 2011, launched The Peter Schiff Show, a daily radio talk show.

Against The Motion

  • Ian Bremmer
    Ian Bremmer
    AGAINST THE MOTION
    Ian Bremmer
    Founder/President, Eurasia Group & Author, The J Curve and The Fat Tail


    Ian Bremmer is the founder and president of Eurasia Group, a leading global political risk research and consulting firm providing financial, corporate, and government clients with information and insight on how political developments move markets. Bremmer created Wall Street’s first global political risk index and has authored several books, including the national bestseller, The End of the Free Market, The J Curve and the upcoming, Every Nation for Itself. Bremmer is a contributor for the Financial Times A-List and Reuters.com, writes "The Call" blog on ForeignPolicy.com, and is a panelist for CNN International’s "Connect the World.” He has a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University, and presently teaches at Columbia University.

  • Minxin Pei
    Minxin Pei
    AGAINST THE MOTION
    Minxin Pei
    Professor of Gov’t at Claremont McKenna College & Author, China’s Trapped Transition


    Minxin Pei is the Tom and Margot Pritzker '72 Professor of Government and the Director of the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies. Formerly a Senior Associate and Director of the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, his research focuses on democratization in developing countries, economic reform and governance in China, and U.S.-China relations. He is the author of From Reform to Revolution: The Demise of Communism in China and the Soviet Union and China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy. Pei’s research has been published in Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, Modern China, China Quarterly, Journal of Democracy and many edited books. His op-eds have appeared in the Financial Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other major newspapers. Dr. Pei received his MA and PhD in political science from Harvard University.

Moderator

John Donvan is a correspondent for ABC News Nightline. He has served as ABC White House Correspondent, along with postings in Moscow, London, Jerusalem and Amman.

Debate Poll

<a href="http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/china-does-capitalism-better-than-america/question-2308933/" title="CHINA DOES CAPITALISM BETTER THAN AMERICA">CHINA DOES CAPITALISM BETTER THAN AMERICA</a>
Live debate on Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Point/Counterpoint

For

  • China has emerged from the global financial crisis seemingly unscathed. Europe’s hope that it will tap into its $3 trillion in reserves for a bailout only solidifies its newfound economic dominance.
  • In contrast to the political gridlock in the U.S., China’s authoritarian government has the ability to mobilize its resources—impressive investment in infrastructure is one example— and to make difficult decisions quickly, without fear of political retribution.
  • Since introducing capitalist economic reforms in 1978, China has lifted $300 billion people out of poverty.
  • With the 2nd highest corporate tax rate in the world, 35%, the U.S. is not business-friendly. China’s rate is 25%.

Against

  • A weak economic foundation, widespread corruption and growing inequality, will bring an end to China’s unprecedented growth.
  • With its gross national income per capita at 7,570, China trails Ecuador, Kazakhstan, and Romania, and falls well behind the U.S. at 47,120.
  • An authoritarian government means that there are no checks and balances—gridlock or no, America’s divided government was created for a reason.
  • Companies rarely pay the full 35% in corporate taxes. In fact, once adjusted for deductions, the average corporate income tax is on par with other industrial nations.