David Hill: West must change its way of economic thought

Published on Sunday 1 May 2011 21:01

Western economies are now forewarned that China has entered the fourth phase of its economic blueprint – where the head of the their central bank has advised their government to offload some $2 trillion of reserves, or in other words $2,000,000,000,000.

Indeed, the bank advises that they invest at least this amount of the $3.04 trillion they hold in reserves, into technologies and investments that will enhance the nation's future prosperity further.

Not many economists warned at the start of the 1990s of the dire effects that this massive balance of economic power transference would have on the West, and only in relatively recent times have they come to realise this.

This enormous buying power will see vast numbers of western corporations and therefore western jobs fall into the hands of the Chinese (and other eastern corporations).

China's ultimate goal is to capture the dominance in global innovation that will provide an unassailable lead for them in global wealth in the 21st century.

Our charity has known these facts for years but no western government has taken any notice. Now this sheer complacency on the part of our politicians and industrialists will simply wreak havoc on western economies and their people.

But the big question is, when will these same pillars of our western establishment realise how to stem this vast economic and social threat to our people?

We need the ideas people to be fully harnessed and allowed to flourish. If we do not understand this, we shall simply see over the next two decades a vast, unprecedented decline in our living standards.

Therefore our politicians have been advised and warned again, but this time, if they do not listen, they will see their people impoverished like never before.

Wake up, western governments, to the realities on the horizon for us all if we do not radically change our economic thinking.

• Dr David Hill is executive director of the Swiss-based S&T (strategy and technology) charity World Innovation Foundation