Last night I was talking with my beloved about the greatest risks facing the world right now. I started with the Middle East and the fickle price of oil, but I ended up with China. The risk of unrest in the country that now produces the bulk of goods in the world struck me as the greatest present worry. The rift between the social order and its citizens is growing by the day, but it is already sufficient to bring the world to a severe crisis. This morning I read in the Financial Times that Beijing had increased spending on internal security. The move is thought to reflect the growing concern about public unrest. I froze. Are the Chinese authorities reading my mind? No, I concluded a second later, I am reading their minds. And so must be untold politicians and business people around the globe.