Capitalism and communism
From Michael Petek
Sir: The vestigially Christian culture of the West took on communism in Europe and won the Cold War (‘The danger of China’, 21 January). But now that the Western manufacturing industry finds itself unable to resist the temptation to relocate to China, what can any of us do? Communist totalitarianism has the potential to be the most effective servant of predatory capitalism the world has ever seen. It guarantees the public enforcement of atheism, undertakes the ruthless suppression of religion and faith-based charitable work for the relief of human misery, and crushes incipient trade unions and other self-help organisations of working people. It creates a culture in which Western capitalists can treat their Chinese employees with a shameless cruelty which would not be tolerated even in Latin America. What we thought was a final victory in the Cold War now turns out to have been just the first round of a longer contest that communism looks set to win.
Michael Petek Brighton, Sussex
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