A song and dance in China

Older people seem happy to be reminded of the hopes they once held for a worker-driven socialist paradise. The nostalgia they feel for that era is all they have these days because most of them have missed out on China's more recent capitalist revolution.

Young people however, appear bemused by this historical baggage and are more likely to see this nostalgia for an unrealised dream for what it is – another crude attempt at political manipulation of the masses by a Party which, despite being the driving force behind rising economic success, remains insecure about its legitimacy. And well it should – history reminds us that wealth inequality and institutionalised corruption are regime killers anywhere.

Not that China is at risk of widespread social unrest or any immediate threat of a Middle East inspired Jasmine Revolution. The nation is too nailed down for that to happen.

In my opinion, this revolutionary rhetoric is all about keeping the lid on the socio/political pressure-cooker until power is transferred to the next generation of leaders in 2012. The old guard does not want its place in history tarnished by any surprises. Ordinary people who long for change can try their luck with the new guard.

The recent incarceration of well-known dissidents (spare a thought for those less well-known dissidents who remain locked up somewhere) and the release of a couple of them under house unrest on the condition that they keep their mouths shut, should be regarded as a preventative measure by a nervous state. Although the methodology is as crude as ever, it's effective.

That's what this song and dance is all about.