A city for the Asian century

Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | A city for the Asian century : Ken Livingstone: "In meeting the challenge of the new economies, Britain has a trump card in multicultural London

Ultimately, the cultural implications will be even greater than the economic ones. People in China and India will want greater political rights and social protection, to match their new economic status - prosperity remains the most powerful tool for creating democracy and welfare states. China's growth, in particular, has lifted the living standards of hundreds of millions of people more quickly than in any society in history - without following the advice of the neoliberals and the IMF. It has not, for example, pursued a programme of privatisation and asset stripping."

Ken Livingstone is mayor of London