key takeaways
- Fascinating examples of the problems with quota-driven governance and target setting (goodhart's law - when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure). For example how GDP growth quotas incentivized the overbuilding of RE and other infrastructure.. In china the problems are allowed to go on longer and become more severe because it lacks the corrective measures (like freedom of press etc) that western countries have.
- good personal story of how the consensus view that opening up to and helping China gain economic freedom would eventually lead to political freedom - which never did happen.