horse of george

Is it an indictment of democracy that China is doing better than India? India has the same surplus of low cost labor, both menial and skilled, same access to oceanic trade and the south east pacific supply chain - why can't it compete with the Chinese manufacturing juggernaut? From what I read it's a result of corruption and the general dysfunction that afflicts its democracy, or the particular culture of its democracy, which may be a crucial distinction. Chinese autocracy certainly seems adept at setting a goal and then putting the pieces in place required to meet the goal. It will be interesting to see though if after time democracy serves the long term interests of India better than autocracy serves those of China. Should also be interesting to follow how the specificities of culture and the nature and forms of institutions manifested thereof plays out here - liberal elites don't like to put things in such qualitative terms [unless of course the US is the thing being maligned], but one imagines one of the consequences of globalization will be how it forces a light on the way culture impacts why some societies prosper while others lag behind.