Roderick,
I think you missed the point and are not looking deep enough into the situation as it currently is.
... No socio/political/economic ideology is ever about equilibrium ...
Firstly, just because "... No socio/political/economic ideology is ever about equilibrium ..." doesn't mean that this is not how things should be, free from major changes. Everything moves towards equilibrium eventually. It is a natural force that cannot be avoided.
And why mention 'ideology'? I don't believe in catagorisation as that limits choices. The scenario is that we should examine and understand, then act accordingly with what we believe to be the best course of action, while continuing to monitor and act as required. Much like a servo contol system that governs the speed of a record player, and responding to any detected speed deviation, by changing the applied signal.
... The fault lies not with capitalism and its demands but with our responses and adaptations ...
Agreed, and it's our responses and adaptations that I am worried about. We need to do more to protect our society, which has already started it's decline. How can we adapt to the current situation? The only way we can go is down. We have reached the summit, and its now time to come back down and join the third world.
... Getting angry at capitalism or at India will not solve the current problems ...
I am not angry at India, but I am angry at capitalism. Capitalism is unfair and unsustainable. It needs some adaptations to correct it's inherent flaws.
... Just because one nation failed in its responses to the demands of capitalism but another succeeds that doesn't mean capitalism itself is at fault ...
Capitalism is at fault, but this has only become apparent as we reached the limits of what it can do. Things cannot move towards greater efficiency and productivity forever. There is a limit, and we are very close to that limit. Growth, growth, and more growth, just isn't sustainable and must stop eventually. We all know that businesses are constantly looking to increase profits, by boosting efficiency and finding better ways of doing things. A manager that simply maintains the status quo, will not improve his rewards, so once all the obvious things have been done, then they will look at the small things like eliminating 'perks' such as free coffee, etc., and reducing mileage allowance, then lowering salaries, etc. Capitalism is flawed, because it doesn't acknowledge when things are already optimised, and hence what we get is over-reaction until someone steps in to take back control. Oscillation, by any description. We need something to dampen this mechanism, so that it can reach stability (equilibrium) quicky.
... Protectionist demands as advocated in your last comment have seldom worked and often backfired ...
This situation is not the same as was in previous historical situations. I don't believe in 'protectionism', only in managing a situation which has grave consequenses for our society if left unchecked. We cannot sustain our economy if we fail to aportion wealth fairly. If we aren't producing efficiently, or doing meaningful and useful work, then our society will collapse. You can't get something from nothing, so I can't see anyway around this problem.
... Japan once exercised what is called Voluntary Export Restrictions (VERs) on its automobile exports to the US in response to threats of tariffs from US government ...
Japan is highly productive and efficient, which is why it survives. It also protects it's home market from imports. Exports don't matter a jot, as that's simply swapping goods for other goods, and has no effect on Japan's home produced wealth.
... The price increase of Japanese autos corresponded with what would've been if tariffs had been applied. The resulting profits enabled Japanese auto makers to be just as efficient as if nothing happened and just as competitive. The result for US auto makers ? The consumers' perception is that US automakers are inefficient with bad designs which leads up to more demands for Japanese autos ...
Japan is so productive that it has to export goods, and in the process becomes even wealthier.
So, what will happen to our society when there are no well-paid jobs/careers left to generate wealth in our own economy, so that we can buy goods and services produced at home, and thus continue the cycle of wealth? Looks like we've already reached the end. Companies can no longer make huge profits. Inefficient operations go bust. Investments give poor returns. We work harder for lower salaries. Home ownership decreases. Many people are out of work, and the elderley don't have decent pensions on which to survive. Some wise chap pushes 'the button', and we all get nuked. The End. Sorted.
Things do look pretty bad right now, so we'll just have to see what adaptations we can come up with to turn things around. Any ideas?