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Once upon a time not so very long ago Russia and China were very very [USSR and China flag swimming together]

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authoritarian not so much no it is nice let's take a look at some of the ways in

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which these countries have walked themselves back from the dictatorial [Man discussing dictatorial abyss on stage]

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abyss well first China and Russia have shelved

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communist economics in favor of capitalism today both countries allow [Communist manifesto thrown into trash]

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people to own private property they allow people to buy sell and start

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businesses they won't send in a SWAT team to close down a lemonade stand [SWAT member appears at girls lemonade stand]

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so yeah progress Russia began its move toward a free market economy in 1991

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after the Soviet Union fell you know kind of like disbanded well China's [USSR flag falls on the floor]

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economic reforms began in the late 1970s with the decollectivization of farms

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let's go the government didn't own this budget while there are still state-owned

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enterprises in China the country is a member of the World Trade Organization

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it is also everyone's favorite economic boogeyman China catches a cold the rest [Chinese cash blows it's nose]

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of us get Ebola they're so powerful got it well second Russia and China now have

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elections kind of okay not really while Russia technically has free elections [Russians cuing for election day]

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you can't really call them democratic when Putin and his pals are the only

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ones on the ballot every time it's like your parents letting you decide what you

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can have for dinner but the only options are tilapia and halibut yeah we've been [Man and woman holding fish]

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there as for China well you have to be a member of the Communist Party in order

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to vote in local elections everybody on that ballot is also a member of the

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Communist Party by the way yeah communism will sort it but it's not [Election ballot appears]

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really communism anymore the third if you're a member of the government elite

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life is good wait wasn't like that before Russia and trying to ditch

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communism if you're an athlete then it's really good part well fourth Russia and [People walking past security into discotech]

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China are no longer spreading the gospel of communism as told unto them by Saint

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Karl Marx now they're just trying to scare the stuffing out of their

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neighbors it's kind of working Russia is still super attached in the

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territories it ruled when it was heading up the Soviet Union these territories

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and Putin gets my gun happy when those territories are sovereign nations try to [Putin looking at territories]

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make nice with anybody who isn't Russia well China in the meantime spends its

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time trying to take over the world okay maybe in China done trying to take over

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the world but definitely Asia right well the Chinese claim Taiwan and Tibet is

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their own although the Taiwanese and the Tibetans beg to differ

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the Chinese are also always on the hunt for a stronger position in the South

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China Sea we've got that volatile neighbor there in North Korea they have [Arrow points to North Korea]

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to worry about well right now they're building lots of artificial islands and

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making lots of other countries well angry and not exactly doing loving [Islands appear with Chinese flags]

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things for the fish they're like that one neighbor who's always hammering away [Chinese neighbor drilling]

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it's the new project every Sunday morning and driving everyone else nuts

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well finally the Chinese and the Russians didn't care about pollution

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when they were communist countries and that attitude is unfortunately slow to [Steam bellowing out of plant]

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change yeah which is fine we've got plenty of time no rush [Water dripping]

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