What would happen to the world economy...

[Atlas]

What would happen to the world economy if the Chinese and most of developing Asia started demanding first-world, western lifestyles with minimum wages, forced 40 hour weeks and higher costs of living?

What do you honestly think would happen?

[Luno]

If? we are heading there. If China can sustain political stability (which they are good at), the only way to stay in business is for Europe and the U.S. is to decrease public spending and lower wages. Our politicians in Europe know that, but won't admit it public. It would be a real career stopper.

[herzmeister]

then we could afford a new dumbphone instead of every year only every two years 

[hashman]

What would happen to the world economy if the Chinese and most of developing Asia started demanding first-world, western lifestyles with minimum wages, forced 40 hour weeks and higher costs of living?

What do you honestly think would happen?

The question is: will they also demand much higher depression and mental illness rates, a vastly increased cancer rate, TV saturation and the much lower aptitude students that go with it, and a prison-industrial complex to keep a few percent or so locked up away from their families?  It looks like they are already demanding western style desertification and other ecological destruction, we'll see what happens. 

[Rassah]

Then people in China will live like people in USA/Europe, and some other third world country will step up to produce cheap products. Like Africa for example.

[scribe]

The trend is certainly towards a global middle class. But to balance it, the trend is also towards a global working class. Which box you end up depends on how dependent you are on things being "cheap".