And they will do quite well for at least another decade or two, living off mainstream industries such as autos, consumer electronics, semiconductors and other capital goods as they make a transition to a more investor and consumer-friendly society.
Then we did it again in the 20th century with the convergence of communication and energy: Centralized electricity especially the telephone and then later radio and television became the communication vehicles to manage a more dispersed Second Industrial Revolution, organized around the oil-powered internal combustion engine, suburban construction and the creation of a mass consumer society.