articles+ search results

HISTORY of economic development, CAPITALISM -- China, MODERNIZATION (Social science), SOCIALISM -- China -- History, MARXIST philosophy, ECONOMIC conditions in China, CHINA -- Politics & government, HISTORY, ECONOMICS, and HISTORY of capitalism

Due to its late start and the impact of outside influences, modernization in China has always been inseparably tied to capitalism. During the early stages of modernization, the primary issue was how feudal forces could identify with and accept capitalism; in later stages, the question has been how socialism can exploit capitalism. The manner in which the relationship with capitalism has been handled has had a great impact on the path that China's modernization has taken. It was correct to emulate the Western model as China first set out on the course of modernization; however, at that time, China was not equipped to accept capitalism. The failed application of the Western model does not demonstrate that learning from the West was incorrect; and China's shift from the Western model to the Soviet model does not signify that severing ties with capitalism was a necessary choice. The reason why the Soviet model led to setbacks was because the relationship with capitalism was not correctly handled. China's modernization is irrevocably linked to capitalism, but this does not signify that the capitalist path is the only option. It was historically inevitable that China would follow the socialist path in pursuing modernization, yet it is also necessary for China to learn how to exploit capitalism in the course of its socialist modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RETAIL industry, VEGETABLES, PUBLIC spaces, SUPERMARKETS, SOCIALISM -- China, MARKETS, FOOD prices, ECONOMICS, and COMMERCE

The state-monopolised system of vegetable retail in socialist urban China has been transformed into a market-based system run by profit-driven actors. Publicly-owned wet markets not only declined in number after the state relegated its construction to market forces, but were also thoroughly privatised, becoming venues of capital accumulation for the market operator's now controlling these properties. Self-employed migrant families replaced salaried state employees in the labour force. Governments' increased control over urban public space reduced the room for informal markets, exacerbating the scarcity of vegetable retail space. Fragmentation in the production and wholesale systems restricted modern supermarkets' ability to establish streamlined supply chains and made them less competitive than wet markets. The transformation of urban vegetable retail documented here shows both the advance that capital has made in re-shaping China's agrifood system and the constraints that China's socialist institutions impose on it. Shanghai's experience also shows that the relative competitiveness of various retail formats is shaped by the state's intervention in building market infrastructure and institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FAMINES -- China, STARVATION, SOCIALISM -- China -- History, GREAT Leap Forward, China, 1958-1961, ECONOMIC conditions in China -- 1949-1976, and ECONOMICS

This article examines how Deng Xiaoping actively participated in, effectively implemented and strictly supervised Mao's notorious utopian project, the Great Leap Forward, which claimed the lives of tens of millions of Chinese people. The paper will also consider the negative influences of Deng on the political processes of the Chinese Communist Party during the devastating campaign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]