For decades, policy wonks on the Republican fringes had talked about turning Social Security, the government safety-net program for retirees, into a system of private investment accounts.

NEWYORKER: Fussbudget

"When they can't fix the problems with the social security and the employment system, we need to have a safety net to capture the poor, " said Tadashi Yamamoto, professor of social security at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.

WSJ: Japan Welfare Case Stirs Debate on Who Should Care for Needy

Given the parlous state of urban China's social-security system, peasants would continue to regard land as a vital safety net, to be relinquished only in extreme circumstances.

ECONOMIST: But only for a select few