Chinese Kids Tire of Communism

Chinese kids are bored stiff with the Communist philosophy still force-fed in their university system. Classes in Marxism have been mandatory since Mao, but cell-phone-weilding students entranced by China's burgeoning capitalist infrastructure are having trouble relating. "It's something like fiction," one student says of the readings in Das Kapital.

Education officials acknowledge the disconnect, and their philosophy curriculum is beginning to stress patriotism and ethics in lieu of strict Marxist ideology. Still, even the jaded are generally nervous about openly criticizing Marxism, since good standing within the Party is still so important to (monetary) success.