Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once proclaimed that there “was no such thing as society.” She saw Britain as being made up of individuals and families. Those who found themselves at the end of Mrs Thatcher’s famous handbag often lost their jobs and their communities. Their own local societies were virtually wrecked. This happened to countless millions of manual workers in industries from mining to car production.

David Cameron, Britain’s present prime minister has declared himself a supporter of the Big Society, one feature of which is to encourage volunteers. Former American President Lyndon B. Johnson had his own version, the “Great Society,” a set of domestic social and civil rights programs for the 1960s. Johnson was successful to a degree but became entrapped in the Vietnam War. US President Obama has inherited not only the huge costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars from George W Bush, as has David Cameron from Tony Blair but also a super-sized banking and financial crisis.

It is still too early to tell whether the second “great contraction” as some are calling the global economic crisis will become the second great depression, the first being that which hit the world in the 1930s. I am one of the lucky post-war baby boom generation and have never been unemployed for any length of time, but the great depression scarred my father, his brothers and sisters and his parents. My father fortunately had a skill in demand throughout those terrible years. He was a ship’s engineer, but his father, a highly skilled engineer working on ship repairs was unemployed for a while.

As the 2008 banking and financial crisis started to bite into the real economy, China lost millions of jobs along with other countries around the globe. Add yet another oil price shock and the pressure on food prices became extreme, plunging many millions back into food poverty or making the situation worse for those already suffering.

In China, the debate about what society should be taking place as the country travels its distinctive development path. This debate is taking place everywhere, as it should do. Inside the Party, among the country’s netizens, inside the government ministries and in every community. Rapid economic development has brought untold riches to some people, yet others, especially in the countryside and poorer regions, seem to be left behind as China becomes a middle income country.

Recently, Warren Buffett, the American billionaire, and Michael Levy, the French business tycoon have said they would happily pay more tax and called upon their fellow millionaires to do the same. I have not heard this call picked up in China, although Buffett’s son was recently in China to persuade China’s new millionaires to do just that.

The joint mission by Buffett and Bill Gates to attempt to persuade Chinese billionaires to fork over their cash was a flop. The most difficult thing for governments to achieve is to inspire the wealthy members of society to help make their countries truly just in a social sense.

The Chinese government has a keen sense of history but it is much more pragmatic and decisive than being a mere follower of fate. My experience of the government officials I work with is that they work by objectives, clarifing them on the basis of experience and remain open to experience from overseas.

The challenge for the rest of the world is to take the best from China in economic innovation, while China struggles to find a development path that balances economic growth and social justice. Chinese officials know all too well that there is such a thing as society.

The author is a coal mine safety adviser and a former member of the European Economic and social Committee. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn