The new global faceoff between economic planning and deregulation: Don Pittis

The struggle between economies based on government planning and the unhindered free market was supposed to have been settled years ago when the Soviet Union crumbled. Now it appears the battle between planning and the invisible hand may be back on and it's still not absolutely clear which side will win. This week China announced a new set of government plans to boost its economy. By contrast, the U.S. moved toward a new round of deregulation with the same intent. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the triumph of free market, laissez-faire capitalism seemed complete. Although the Soviet Communist system had demonstrated transformational successes, like catching up to the West in heavy industry, nuclear science and space technology, the top-down command economy proved unsustainable.