Market Socialism
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping opened the Chinese economy to increased foreign trade and investment. Under growing pressure from the international community, the bureaucracy under Deng moved towards economic reforms. This move towards capitalism was, in the words of Deng, "socialism with Chinese characteristics." "Market socialism" is best described as a demand economy with centralized control. This hybrid system has been the impetus for the revitalization of the Chinese economy. Superficially, this system may be deemed a success as the increase in economic freedom has led to an unparalleled expansion of economic activity. However, this system has also brought about the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, and corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation) (CIA - The World Factbook 1999). The first major series of reforms were implemented in the rural sectors. Initially, the reforms called for the return of private plots of land to rural peasants. Peasants would be allowed to enter into contracts with the collectives to farm a particular pl
State factories still employ the bulk of China's 170 million strong urban workforce, as much as 80-90% of all loans made by state banks are made to state owned industries, amounting to an estimated $120 billion. Much of the borrowing from the banks is to cover the wages of state workers (Sewell). In recent years, there have been rumors of massive layoffs in state owned enterprises, and "...hundreds of thousands of state workers, if not millions, have gone unpaid for months..." (The Economist). Although this system invigorated many sectors of industry, it too had its drawbacks. The bureaucratic cadre exploited these reforms to ensure their own personal gain. Capitalistic crimes such as kickbacks, embezzlement, and racketeering became commonplace. Massive concessions to capitalism have been made in the name of economic reform. Nonetheless, serious problems still exist. The incompatibility of the free market system with the outdated Soviet-style planning system continues to distort the allocation of investment funds. This "institutional incompatibility" has led to a
Some common words found in the essay are:
Deng Xiaoping's, Xiaoping Chinese, World Factbook, Communist Party, chinese communist party, communist party, , major series reforms, Chinese Communist, hand chinese communist, economic reforms, major series, chinese communist, market socialism, hand chinese, series reforms, factory managers, chinese economy,
Approximate Word count = 740
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
