CHINA CRACKS DOWN ON DIRECT MARKETING

Americans are so used to free enterprise that it is difficult to understand the business climate in places like China and the actions of the Chinese government to regulate the profit motive.

The latest wrinkle has to do with direct-marketing enterprises, some legitimate and some that are downright scams. Rather than distinguish between the Amway and Avon door-to-door selling and the no-product pyramid schemes that rely on adding more and more sales representatives with promises of limitless profit, the Chinese government has decided to ban all direct-marketing in the country.

Sure, this should help thwart the pyramid schemes, which have brought financial ruin to countless thousands of people who grabbed for the golden ring and caught a scam instead. But hundreds of direct marketers, using techniques perfected in the United States, also face disaster as a result of the government's action.

China has long been wary of free enterprise while embracing many of its economic benefits as the nation reorders its business priorities. It can only be hoped the government will make a distinction in the future.