I don't think people realize that in the time of Stalin, cursing at that portrait could put you in the Gulag for 20 years or 10 years, which was often a death sentence. But I want to say also, the problem of keeping corruption in check is very difficult. And it's actually very easily seen in the case of Chinese rich people. The behavior, their own behavior and the behavior of the kids. Remember this story is about rich kids driving Ferraris. Many of these kids being sent here to the United States with, you know, extremely luxurious lifestyles. So it's very difficult to keep this in some kind of order.
Economist and author Branko Milanovic of the Graduate Center, CUNY, talks about his book, Capitalism, Alone, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. They discuss inequality, the challenge of corruption in the Chinese system, and Milanovic's claim that in American capitalism, the texture of daily life is increasingly affected by the sharing economy and other opportunities.