Past Perfect?

http://www.democracyjournal.org/28/past-perfect.php?page=all

how do we explain such major patterns as China's dominance in technology and prosperity in the fifteenth century, then its enduring economic and social backwardness for five centuries, and then its meteoric rise over the last 30 years? Any reasonable account of China's economic and social history must place changes in the social organization and institutions of the country as the most important factor explaining these very significant ups and downs.

(via Instapaper)