In his introduction to The Lexus and the Olive Tree, published in 1999, Thomas Freidman states that "[t]he world is 10 years old. It was born when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Cold War system was replaced by a new, very greased, interconnected system called globalization." As a result of the fall of the Soviet Union, as signified by the fall of the Wall, and the death of the Cold War system, which had been dominated by two super powers and their perceived black and white politics, every country, but primarily communist countries, which include the former members of the Soviet Union, China, North Korea and Cuba, has had to re-evaluate its form of government and its relationships with other countries. In this paper I will study the changes that have take place as a result of the failure of communism and the dominance of capitalism in China, Cuba and North Korea.
             China is the most unusual of the countries I will study. It is unusual because of the continuous change its political systems have undergone during the 20th century. For most of the last 2000 years, the defining principles of Imperialist China were based on the teachings of Confucius. Amongst it many tenets Confucianism taught that all people have their place and should accept it, and that upper classes would rule and the peasantry follow. In addition, "the ruler was to be the father to his people and look after their basic needs. It required officials to criticize their rulers and refuse to serve the corrupt." However, as a result of isolationism, the impact of foreign occupation, and the lack of the technological advances experienced in the West, the Chinese revolted in 1911. In the late 1920's the revolution splintered under Chiang Kai-shek who moved the Kuomintang party to the right and the Communist Party of China (CPC) which had come under the control of Mao Tse-tung and the CDC was almost destroyed. However, as would be expected when a c...