There are members of the Chinese military elite who seem convinced that the combat applications of Maseratis, Jaguars, Porches and Bentley in battlefield scenarios are significantly greater than their manufacturers ever considered. Or at least that's how it appears when these high-end sports cars are seen evading the various rules of the road, courtesy of the ultimate "get out of jail free" card on China's freeways - the military license plate.
Unfortunately, the days of reckless disregard appear to over. Members of the Chinese armed forces will no longer be able to use these coveted plates for vehicles costing more than $70,000, since the government has finally decided to stop this rampant abuse of privileges.
Modern China is now a country where well-connected, and extravagantly wealthy, individuals are able to pay for the privilege of disregarding basic driving laws. For them, running through red lights and ignoring tolls and parking fines are a perk of their special place in a booming economy. Some entrepreneurial officers are even reported to be leasing cars with the special plate to willing customers for $120,000, although the new government regulations do not go so far as to limit or punish these abuses.
The People's Liberation Army is now a target of popular anger and outrage over allegations of corruption. Chinese bloggers regularly post photos of egregious violations, shaming the government into taking a more confrontation position with regards to the PLA.
"Social harmony" has always been a high priority for the Chinese Communist Party, as the economy transitions away from an unsuccessful attempt at socialist egalitarian and towards the rough-and-tumble world of capitalist winner-take-all. Unfortunately, the simplistic rhetoric of official state media fails to live up to the reality of corruption seen in daily life.
Children of well-placed Communist Party officials appear to be disproportionately benefiting from the windfall being generate by China's eye-watering growth rates. Meanwhile, many are struggling with the high social costs of the "economic miracle" without much in the way of direct access to its benefits. As resentment builds, leaders in Beijing and the provincial capitals are being forced to confront mounting resentment over a system that provides for one set of rules for the elites, and entirely different set of rules for everyone else.
Of course, this is not a problem unique to China. Tectonic shifts in an economy provide huge opportunities to those who can position themselves best to exploit the changes and displace competitors. The rewards are often disproportionately allocated to a relatively small handful of individuals, although certain benefits eventually do diffuse out to the wider community. In China's managed economy, however, those disproportionate rewards seem to be accruing as much to gatekeepers and intermediaries working their connections as to the actual men and women taking the entrepreneurial risks and transforming the country.
India, China's rival in Asia, is also facing its own challenges to "social harmony." In a country where many still live under the cumulative effects of grinding poverty, a tiny number of individuals are accumulating massive fortunes from India's own "economic miracle."
For example, this week also saw a wealthy Indian man arrested for allowing his 9 year old son drive his Ferrari. The sports car was just one of 18 cars owned by Mohammed Nisham. He was taken into custody after his wife posted video on YouTube of the son driving the car on his birthday, with his 7 year old brother as his only passenger.
Unsurprisingly the video soon went viral and the authorities eventually alerted.
Incidents such as this highlight the growing disparities in India. While a small handful enjoying vast wealth, a large proportion of the country is left to subsist on a dollar a day. Philosophical arguments over the necessity of economic growth to improve the future prospects of all have their place, but they are cold comfort to a family struggling to survive each day.
Given how different the Indian approach to governing is from the Chinese, it is particularly notable that both countries are wrestling with the same problem - the massive disparity in wealth between the top of society and the bottom. While the top tier are able to enjoy the full benefits of the 21st century, many of the remaining are left to graft out their lives in a dim replica of the 19th century.
China and India should both keep a watchful eye on the needs of the poorest of their citizens. No matter how many high-end imported sports cars are purchased by their rich and well-connected elite, the true success of their "economic miracles" will ultimately be judged on the basis of whether all segments of society shared in the prosperity generated by high growth rates and ever-increasing globalization.