We all know who Milton Friedman is (I hope). The man Time called “Uncle Miltie”, an adviser to such “greats” as Reagan and Thatcher.
Here is “Uncle Miltie” talking about Hong Kong :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dngqR9gcDDw
Here is Mark Thier in the Reason in 1977:
” The mobility of its capital and labor is another key to Hong Kong's success. Factories will be established simply to fulfill one order—for as little as one month—and then the equipment and workers will seek employment elsewhere. “
” Hong Kong's success is due more to its lack of government than to anything else.
Hong Kong has (effectively) no unions, no minimum wage laws, low taxes, no exchange controls, very little legislation proscribing hours of work, no barriers to starting a business, no restrictions on foreign investments, no tariffs, no quotas, and no subsidies to farmers or businessmen.”
” What makes Hong Kong completely unique in the world is the way the economy is almost self-regulating via the currency—the Hong Kong dollar (which, after the Swiss franc, is probably the world's hardest currency). The Hong Kong government does not keep balance of payments statistics. It does not know and does not need to know whether its payments “balance.” The Hong Kong dollar is issued by three private banks (Hong Kong has no central bank), and in order to issue currency the banks must deposit foreign currency to an equivalent value with the government. That, combined with the floating of the currency, means that the internal money supply is entirely regulated by exports, imports, and money flows “
“For that system to work, prices—particularly wages—must be flexible downward. Hong Kong is one of the few economies in the world where that is true. “
“Much of Taiwan's and South Korea's economic growth comes from allowing the market to take its course, even though such governments may be exceedingly oppressive in other ways. “
“Hong Kong is what an economy should be. Capital, labor, and even land (though in short supply) are highly mobile between different uses. Prices, including those of labor, are flexible up and down. And because the price system is flexible, all persons in the market are highly aware of price changes and react to them quickly, no matter what their position within the economic system. “
“The result is Hong Kong. An anachronism in a world of welfare states; an economy that, according to conventional economics, cannot work; but a place whose very existence should call into doubt most of the political myths of our time. “
https://reason.com/1977/06/01/hong-kong/
The capitalist dream country is a sweatshop.