CHINA: Spirit v. Money

Shanghai citizens were tickled last week by a funeral with a live corpse. Riding in a coffin hauled on a cart was a grimacing old man clutching a carton of cigarettes, two cases of laundry soap, some boxes of matches and a roll of cloth. Every block or so the old man climbed out of his coffin to harangue the crowd on the evils of hoarding and speculating. Inscriptions on dancing banners and placards read: "Those who hoard are public enemies," and "Who damages the gold yuan will have his head chopped off."

The organizer of the procession was the...

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