The red album

 

From New Republic (October 1, 1993)

by Douglas Coupland

A recent New York Times story coined the term "Market-Leninism" to describe the current momentous political and economic upheaval in China. Herewith a quick chart to place China's turmoil in a historical context:

Marxist-Leninism Market-Leninism McCartney-Lennonism
ideology business catchy pop tunes
Moscow Beijing Liverpool
1917 1993 "Yesterday"
KGB Kuomintang Ringo Fan Club
Dissidents sent to Siberia Dissidents zapped with cattle prods Dissidents purchase Rolling Stones albums
Stalin Deng Xiaoping Murray the K
middle-range ballistic missiles to Cuba M-11 missile shipments to Pakistan To number one like a rocket
All history is determined economic conditions economic conditions are rendering history irrelevant economical, hummable tunes a part of by music history
revolutionaries Revlon "Revolution No. 9"
single-party rule; no market competition single-party rule; competition in the marketplace five singles in the U.S. Top 10 April 4, 1964
crisis of legitimacy faced the old ideology crisis of legitimacy faced the old ideology Yoko Ono