What lives you tycoons lead.

The Department of the Interior was crowded with western railroad tycoons, mine owners and land speculators.

Unlike most of Hong Kong s tycoons, who are considered excessively focused on political expedience, Li is viewed as a person of strong conscience and thus worthy of considerable respect. He even enjoys the affectionate nickname Superman.

During the 1998 financial crisis, devaluation would have hurt those who owned local real estate but had little earnings or assets in US dollars. Not surprisingly, Hong Kong s oligopoly of property tycoons opposed changing the peg despite the currency s gross overvalue at the time.

The example of European Jewry is not entirely irrelevant. An oppressed tribe of Ostjuden, destitute immigrants from the shattered communities of Eastern Europe, was transformed in just two generations from God fearing shoemakers, tailors, and wandering peddlers into a community of writers, philosophers, scientists, and tycoons.

Perhaps there are some non utopian ways of transcending selfish interests and doing what is necessary. For example, in various countries, voters have been tempted to elect business tycoons enough with politicians bickering over selfish interests let the can do strongmen take charge and run countries like corporations.

Moreover, unlike Poland when communism collapsed, Burma already has powerful business tycoons flourishing under the existing system and they mean to maintain and develop their privileges. Above all, there is no immediate international institutional context encouraging steady change and establishing standards and benchmarks Burma must find its own path.

It is irrelevant that President Vladimir Putin s United Russia Party, unlike the CCP, makes no claim to any form of Marxist ideology. The way both governments operate is quite similar party bosses, tycoons, and corrupt bureaucrats divide the spoils, while promoting chauvinism and traditional values whether those of the Orthodox Church or Confucianism.

First, the veil of corruption in Afghanistan must be lifted. Afghans are fed up with arrogant and well armed tycoons who live in mansions and drive top of the range Mercedes limousines this in a country where barely 13 of the population have electricity and most people must survive on less than 200 a year.

More people want to meet Bill Gates or Marissa Mayer than vice versa. If we were to create a real market, it would become unpleasantly commercial a bit like those charity auctions where celebrities or tycoons donate the pleasure of their company for lunch with the highest bidder, except that the VIP pockets the money.

Dealing with despots and shady tycoons is no longer venal, but noble. Selling the franchise of a university or a museum to a Gulf state, building yet another enormous stadium in China, or making a fortune out of soccer favors to Russia or Qatar is progressive, anti racist, and a triumph of global fraternity and universal values.

Tsang, who enjoyed spending time with the wealthy on their yachts and in their private suites, pursued a restrictive land policy that boosted real estate values and thus the wealth of the land owning tycoons. Prices rose so high, however, that real estate became accessible only to the very well off, such as the families of high officials from the mainland.

Despite its flaws, a system in which elected officials are held publicly accountable and can be voted out of office is still preferable to rule by tycoons or technocrats. And, sometimes, radical changes are made, even in democracies, though a severe crisis often is required to mobilize voters behind a collective push for essential reform, as was true of the Great Depression in the 1930 s, which led to Franklin Roosevelt s New Deal.