Hey Raptor, your research is very thoughtful and well written. For the most part, I agree with what your saying.
The manufacturing abilities of China - and to an increasingly large extent India - is now far greater than what the Americans were able to do 50 years ago. It was manufacturing that won the war for the allies against the Nazis, and that power lead to America's place as the THE super power of the last half of the century.
I like to think that China and India are in the same position as America (and Canada) were in the 40s and 50s. There is great potential and enthusiasm by the people to excel and grow in the East. In the West, our people are well educated, but we don't have the manufacturing might that we did 50 years ago, and we've outsourced those low-brow jobs to other countries who need them.
Another problem we have in the West is that of population growth, in that we are not having as many children and for the most part, immigration keeps our numbers from hitting the zero mark for growth (Germany and Japan being the greatest examples of post industrialist countries with populations that are not making enough babies to counteract the number of deaths).
In all the great capitalist societies, a growing and vigorous population keeps the economy going, and it seems as though we have already hit the pinnacle of our boom period and now we are slowly descending down the slope of the long bust. Capiltalist countries are constantly going through cycles of boom and bust, but perhaps over the long haul, we have been losing ground to countries who are ready to take up the place of our former manufacturing and productive might. and if that is the case, then what is 330 million people (combined population of Canada and America) to 3 billion people (combined population of India and China)? 300 million is the size of India's middle class alone.
Sorry if I've digressed from the topic of toy collecting, my mind wanders sometimes,
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Raptor, you make it seem that Communism and Islamic Fundamentalism will hamper our toy collecting hobby. You've compared the industrial situation of Europe in the 19th and 20th century to China's situation. And you're right, there were/are so many civil rights violations being perpetrated against the working class than and now. You dont need Communism to start a revolt against the government and corporations, just the reasonable need for equality, civil rights, and good treatment that all human beings deserve, not just in the West, but everywhere. So the Chinese may use the banner of communism to rally their people for a common cause, but their grievances are the same that the working class had during the revolutions in the democracies of Europe and N. America, the very same grievances and revolts that led to better pay and rights for our working class parents today.
And if anyone deserves equality, it is countries like China and India, who's people have been used as vassals by smaller yet powerful countries for far too long. Again, I'd like to reiterate that the will of a few hundred million souls cannot force their will upon Billions of souls for long.
Its taken us 50 years to get to the place that we are today, it will only take the East 25 to match us, and it is an inevitability that they will demand the same use of resources and rights that we do today.
What does that mean for our toys? Well it already seems like our Marvel Legends are going the way of the Dodo bird. Hasbro is making their super hero line in the new 5 inch standard. Bigger toys means more oil is needed and a higher price point to boot. So this may not be such a bad thing after all. Mayble they'll just move down to the 3 3/4 like GIJoe and Star Wars, which would be a great thing for us as collectors, because we would have more figures to expand our personal universes.
But is it all roses and honey?? I dont know, im still just a kid in a young adult's body
. Sometimes I think that our desire to build greater and greater legions of Joe armies, is a think of our generation; a throwback to a time when bigger was better, and there were plentiful resources for everyone, at a low price point to boot. But I think that our kids and future generations will grow up with the idea that they can't have everything, and that it is unreasonable to think in that way.
After all, if we all want to be efficient and have less of an impact on the environment/resources and be more efficient as citizens and human beings, than it might mean changing our ways so future generations can learn from us.
However, its one thing to preach and yet another to actually do it. I know that my inner kid won't be satisifed until I have all of the G.I.Joe vehicles and at least a few hundred figures. But kids of today are moving on to the next big thing, and i think that for the kids of today, I don't think that they will need as much hard plastic as we yearned for when we were kids. At least I hope that is the case.
Raptor, at the end of your post you say that we are threatened by Islamic hardliners and Communism, but really it all boils down to treating our fellow man with respect and dignity, which means we cant continue to hog the world's resources and energy. It sounds so cliche to say it, but we really do need to learn to share the wealth and help our fellow man, not to impose our collective will upon them.
