How Did Communist China Become a Capitalist Superpower?

In his new book, "Competing Economic Paradigms in China," Steve Cohn examines how China's economic policy went from Maoist to "iron rice bowl" to neoliberal

[conscious_being]

In the 1970s it became evident to those paying attention that when oil production peaks, economic growth will come to a screeching halt. Both the capitalist world and the communist world realised their systems would be in trouble when that happens, since they would then be in no position to deliver on their promises of ever increasing prosperity for everyone. The United States did what it always did best, extend the area it plunders, by openly declaring the Middle East its fiefdom. The USSR was not threatened because of the oil and gas reserves it had. But China had a problem. She needed to import oil and had to choose to play ball with either the USSR or the West. Given that communism, in both the USSR and China, was nothing more than nationalism mixed with anti-Western imperialism, one would have expected China to look towards the USSR. But Chinese, being smart, realised that West was nothing more than a bunch of bandits with no national loyalties are much easier to control than the fiercely nationalistic Russians in control of the USSR. They guessed, correctly, that by appealing to the individual shortterm self-interest of Westerners, they can serve China's long-term interests even as they undermine the long-term interests of the West. They pretended to buy into Western economic theories and even offered slave labour that thrilled Western capitalists and middle-class alike. Having built China into the industrial powerhouse fuelled by the greed of Westerners, China is now ready to join Russia and others to bring an end to the Western imperialism by destroying the hold of Western currencies on global trade.

[weichihtomfeng]

former Knox College econ student here ---taking professor Cohn's classes was one of the best decisions I made during college. Professor Cohn is an incredibly intelligent and dedicated scholar. Glad to hear him speaking about the Chinese economy again after graduating.

[aleaiactaest]

Fascinating discussion! Thank you The Real News.

[oreagle]

Hello TheRealNewsCom; ScrewTube is manipulating your stream. When I choose a video; I am presented with additional choices, usually more of current video publisher. EXCEPT TheRealNewsCom; I am directed to videos produced by MSM, not a single TheRealNewsCom choice. Not just this video, all of your videos get this treatment.

[Nine-Signs]

And within 5 minutes the Prof shows he knows little.

Marxian economics was not abandoned in China, it is because of Marx that China has been so successful. Marx to this day offers the greatest critical analysis of Capitalism ever written. Neoclassical economists like this person above never bother to read nor learn Marx so they make idiotic statements regarding his work based off of their own interpretation of real world events.

The Chinese understood the contradictions of Capitalism as stated and explored by Marx and have been able to exploit capitalism for their own purposes.

1. Profit seeks the lowest cost of labour, that means
a)employers bring cheap labor to jobs, but if they can't
b) employers send the jobs to cheaper labor

China understood that all she had to do to bleed the west dry, was offer low taxes, subsidised energy, and a cheap labor force. Simple as that.

[IsaacDavis]

I've always found the 'deformed worker's state' argument to be most accurate when describing China. I find it really difficult to classify China as strictly 'socialist' due to it's lack of democracy, you can say that I'm a Western Chauvinist for saying that worker's democracy is necessary for socialism but that's the truth. I consider Cuba a genuine socialist, worker's state but that's because the constitution outlines a very well functioning democratic process. I'm fine with the market reforms, I agree with the MLs that they were necessary to increase standards of living in the country and to get to the place where genuine communism can exist, under a post-scarcity society, and also to avoid the complete capitalist overthrow of China. China has had immense success in increasing productivity and I think that it would be a real defeat of the global working class if it were dismantled like the USSR... I mean you can look at the situation for many workers in former soviet-bloc countries and tell that they were much better off under Soviet rule. I am uncomfortable with the growing wealth inequality in China, even if the wealthy in China couldn't be classified as a ruling class in the capitalist sense, the presence of literal billionaires in the country should alarm any leftist.

I would like for ML's to be less critical of Western social democracies, especially the growing left socdem movements in places like the UK. Obviously social democracy is not socialism either but with socialists in those countries living under such extreme state repression winning the battle of bourgeois democracy should be something that is celebrated by the left internationally as the only viable path forward in our current moment to advancing the proletarian struggle, especially if these movements can contribute to the dismantling of Western imperialism. I just think that there needs to be a lot more solidarity going around and a whole lot less bickering over definitions. We ultimately all want the advancement of human happiness and flourishing.

(Also don't tell me that the current Russian state is in anyway leftist, that's simply inaccurate. Being anti-US does not make you a leftist.)

[Tsnore]

Mercantilism has been employed by Japan, the ROK, and the PRC and a few others in Asia, but always with US (and its allies') involvement through - suzerainty, massive importing, supplying of ideas, systems, and inventions (willing and unwilling), becoming an enormous debtor, etc. What's next could be quite interesting to use the famous Chinese proverb's "interesting times" line.

[EvilDuckOfDoom]

China is not capitalist as such....look up the primary stage of socialism and Marx's capitalist mode of production.

[etow]

Tienanmen Square is a CIA sponsored event ...you got it wrong !

[GrimLocke]

This was awesome.

I’m with Sharmini: more time on heterodox socioeconomics with Steve.

[brianbooker]

The West has used this neo-classical model since the 1700’s and here we are in the late stages of extinction. Economists like to blame Keynesian economics for the neo-classical failures but equilibrium doesn’t exist in the micro or the macro. If it did we wouldn’t have had the Great Depression, which among other things namely debt can’t be explained. I read Steve K.’s Debunking Economics ten plus years ago and he proved once and for all neo-classical economics isn’t a science and I’m sure the Chinese have a better grasp of economics than I do. In the 1970’s Capitalism collapsed and it needed a reset, enter globalism and China. Neo-Classical economics is a failed model it relies on the humanist notion of the individual and the one thing China isn’t is a nation of “it’s all about me” individuals. China used neo-classical economics to go from an agricultural nation to an industrial mega power because it was the quickest and easiest way to achieve that goal. It’s no accident that Hong Kong was given back to the country, it was just a way to keep them from gaining too much power. How has capital left that country especially during the 2008 crisis, Hong Kong and how is the government stopping capital flight now, by shutting down Hong Kong. China has a long term strategy and that is why they took on so much debt after the 2008 crisis, they were trying to help stabilize world Capitalism. Their current president had a speech earlier this year and he called China’s economic policy Socialism with a Chinese twist not neo-classical economics with a Chinese twist. Any nation that has a functioning brain realizes Capitalism no matter what label you give it is destroying itself and the ecosystem that supports it. The US doesn’t want to accept this but we’re on auto-pilot self destruct mode so our input in shaping the world is diminishing

[MtnGalPal]

Man, that guy was very hard to follow. Would have loved to hear this more in layman's terms

[иимв]

China is still a unified powerful empire like its history. There’s no differences because communist party took control. China is still China, but absorbs some cool western ideologies

[Hydra-tmqm]

Karl Marx enlightened Chinese, but Chinese also developed Marxism, applied to reality, adapted to modern situations.

[Nilsosmar]

The notion that the Chinese can "ride the tiger of Capitalism" while restraining inequality, is highly questionable. Much of China has become a state-run sweatshop in which people work at terrible jobs almost from cradle to grave.

[daveb]

China is to Capitalism what Michael Jordan was to Bowling

[Ascanius]

I just want to correct your title There has t been real capitalism on this planet since the late 1800’s what we have if a watered down fascism on the move up. Peace

[letitburn]

I think that was a fairly lazy attempt to explain how Marxist economists might approach the issue.

[nizicike]

Is this capitalist country better than USA?

[marcusellius]

The answer can be summed up in 2 words. Steve Jobs