My friend China was a capitalist country for millennia and had periods of prosperity that would be interrupted by intermittent wars with their neighbours and among themselves, devastating the quality of life. China only became communist in 1949, and their governance system where the leader's thoughts (manifesto) are scrutinized and reviewed by the General Assembly (every spring) have yielded the current progress. Of course their system is not pure communism but a hybrid that fortunately is people centered, providing essential social services and the infrastructure for personal growth.