LENIN (列寧）thought inflation a subversive（顛覆性的） force, as damaging to capitalism as any Bolshevik revolutionary（布爾什維克/社會主義改革）. Certainly, his heirs（繼承者） in the Chinese Communist Party （中國共產(chǎn)黨）are taking no chances. On November 17th the State Council（國務(wù)院）, China’s cabinet, promised “forceful measures” to stabilise prices（穩(wěn)定物價）. It said it would drum up supply and crack down on hoarders（貯藏者，囤積者） and speculators（投機者，投機商人）. It even threatened to “interfere” with the prices of daily necessities（日用品）, which might include grains, cooking oils, sugar and cotton.

     Inflation（通貨膨脹） is not yet a threat to the republic. But consumer prices rose by 4.4% in the year to October, the fastest rise for over two years. Food prices, which account for more than a third of the consumer-price index（指數(shù)）, are largely to blame: vegetables are almost a third more expensive than they were a year ago. Even the most exotic（稀有的） commodities have been affected . As China’s prices rise, consumer confidence and the stockmarket are falling. Shanghai shares have fallen by a tenth since the inflation figures came out.

      Rising food prices may explain China’s inflation, but what is behind their rise? Floods, including a deluge（洪水） in Hainan province last month, hurt some crops. Harvests have also disappointed elsewhere in the world: the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said this week that the cost of the world’s food imports may exceed $1 trillion this year, only $5 billion short of the record bill in 2008.