Turkey or China, which one to follow.

"The Turkish lira on Thursday hit fresh lows after the central bank fired the latest salvo in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 'economic war of independence' by cutting interest rates for the fourth successive month," TOI. "The reduction of the main rate to 14 from 15 percent comes in the face of an annual inflation rate that has surged past 20 percent and is expected to climb even higher over the next few weeks." "A dollar could buy three liras in 2016 and 7.43 liras on January 1. It was worth 15.60 liras on Thursday after opening the week at around the 13.80 mark." "I have never defended raising interest rates, I don't now and will not defend it," Erdogan told reporters. "I will never compromise on this issue." "Our purchasing power dropped -- our money has no value anymore," said 80-year-old retired bank employee Necla Sazak. Erdogan said that "Turkey will reduce inflation and exchange rate volatility through low interest rates", Reuters. In 2018, he was re-elected as president by putting opponents in prison and banning all protests, BBC. To offset people's anger, "Turkey's minimum wage will be 4,250 Turkish liras ($272) in 2022", which will be a 50% increase, BS. Can a man do whatever he likes just because he won an election? "In Belarus, Bolivia, Myanmar, Hong Kong and elsewhere, citizens are arrested, imprisoned, beaten and executed. Elsewhere, democrats are on the back foot, gripped by feelings that our times are weirdly unhinged, and troubled by worries that big-league democracies such as India, the United States, Britain, South Africa and Brazil are sliding towards a precipice, dragged down by widening social inequality, citizen disaffection and the rot of unresponsive governing institutions," wrote Prof John Keene. This is 'despotism'. "Despotism is rather a new type of strong state, a form of 'phantom democracy' led by rulers skilled at manipulating and meddling with people's lives, marshalling their support and winning their conformity. Despotisms craft top-to-bottom relations of dependency oiled by wealth, money, law, elections and by talk of defending 'the people' and 'the nation' (the phrases are often interchangeable in local languages) against 'domestic subversives' and 'foreign enemies'," This is ultimate corruption. "Roy and Keane invoke Periyar's worldview, of the essence of democracy being equality and freedom for each of its members. It is not limited to elections where 'bread and fish' secure votes and sap the system of its essence," wrote Seema Chishti. Like Erdogan's devaluing of the Turkish lira, we experienced demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which formed 86% of currency in circulation,BS, based on one man's whim on 8 November 2016. Did it decrease corruption? "Ask this question now to the Karnataka State Contractors Association, which has written to the Prime Minister's Office last month claiming that they have to cough up around 25-30% of tender amounts to elected representatives before even starting any public works in Bengaluru, with a further 5% being paid to get their bills cleared," wrote Rajdeep Sardesai. Phones of opponents and journalists have been bugged with Pegasus software, The Wire. Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said that the Pegasus software can be sold only to governments, NDTV. Despotism is about power. And power corrupts.