I admit that I am a fan of James Fallows, who now writes for The Atlantic.  Fallows has written some great stuff on China over the years (e.g., “Postcards from Tomorrow’s Square”), but his latest piece that I came across, “How America Can Rise Again”, is one of his best works and well worth reading.  It applies to what you will see in emerging economies and emerging markets such as India and China.  Click HERE to read it.  The 6 minute video interview that accompanies the article is also worth watching.

What are your take-aways from this article?    Your trip to China/India is important, in that it will help you test some of Fallow’s arguments.  Can’t do that if you stay home and only read about it in a book, and never visit the business future in a places like the PRC and India.

Final Note:  My asking you to read and start the course with Fallow’s Postcards from Tomorrow’s Square was designed to peek your interest in the place, give you a 10,000 foot view of what is happening in China, the relevance, and some of the ways thing there differ.  I appreciate his book does not take China to task for some of the issues you may care about, but it was also never his intent to write such a book.  For the Dragon Slayers, be patient — any interest in the dark side of China may be satiated with the next book I require you to read, China: Fragile Superpower, by Susan Shirk.  Said book lifts up China’s hood to expose and give us a peek at some of her dysfunctionalities and many internal challenges.  Remember, before we can expect China to change and/or to learn how to effectively do business with the Chinese, we need to first understand where they are coming from and why.  Shirk’s book provides some lenses to help us study such questions and issues.