The Trend of Changes in the Distribution of Workers' IncomeRenwei, Zhao
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110005402
Before the economic reforms, the main problem in the distributionof income in China had been egalitarianism. The economic reforms areaimed at widening the gap between individual incomes in order to raiseefficiency and achieve the aim of the common prosperity of all membersof the society. This is the same as the result of Kuznets research.Before the reforms, China practised a policy of freezing wages andprices for a long period, leading to a situation unfavourable to theyoung generation in the distribution of income. The situation isundergoing a change in the economic reforms. China mainly adopted thenonmarket method in the distribution of consumer goods before theeconomic reforms, which call for wider use of the market method.
An Examination of Commodity Economy in WenzhouZili, Lin
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110136371
The rise of household enterprises including a small number oflarge households hiring labourers, i.e. privatelyrun enterprises andthe formation of the regional market have caused the Wenzhou economy tomanifest its seldomseen vitality, and have also brought about thebroadened differences in peoples incomes. It is just such phenomenathat have given rise to wide interest and heated arguments about thequestion whether or not the economy in Wenzhou has advanced towardsprivatisation, marketisation orpolarisation. For this reason, the author of this researchreport makes an indepth theoretical analysis on the basis of hisonthespot investigation.
Capital and Socialist EconomyChen, Zheng
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110136353
Capital, the classical work by Marx, is not outofdate asthe main thought for the present socialist economy. We can improve thetextbooks of economics by learning the method of qualitative andquantitative analysis from Capital. The socialist practice inChina would enrich and develop the theory of commodity economy describedby Marx. The concept of technical products turned into a commodity isalso one contribution to Marxs theory.
On Ideas of Socialist Commodity EconomyShibai, Liu
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110139648
China is now in the process of transition from an old to a neweconomic structure. The ideas of the old versus the new, the developingof new economic commodity ideas, coexists with the spread of old ideastheir coexistence and contradiction become the conspicuous phenomenon inthe transitional period of economic structures in China. Therefore Chinafaces a new task of ideological construction, the cultivation anddevelopment of civilised and healthy ideas of socialist commodityeconomy, to inspire socialist spirit in business behaviour.
On Market GrowthWan, Jieqiu
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110137389
This article mainly discusses market growth in the Chinese economy.The author analyses the difficulties of Chinese marketing reform, andpoints out that the key to market growth is not perfection of the marketsystem but establishment of a market base. Without a property rightsystem, a market system will not perform efficiently. Therefore marketgrowth cannot be a natural course of system conversion in China. Manysystem obstacles are hindering market growth. Chinese market growth mustexperience a social system reform in order to nurture a new marketsystem.
China Economic Development and Evolution of Socialist Public OwnershipHaiyan, Gao
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110144183
For any developing countries in the 20th century, there exists aproblem of how to choose the economic development route socialist or capitalist which means how to compare different social andeconomic benefits and make different value judgements in economicdevelopment. Socialism is not a pure political and ideological question,certainly not just a political question. It is a way for developingcountries, particularly large agricultural countries, to realise theirindustrialisation and modern commercial economy. Essentially, it is afocus of development economics. For economically backward countries theaim of socialism is not to fight against the capitalist world, but firstto develop their own economy. Socialist public ownership connected withthe stage of economic development involves inner contradictions in itsown development from the very beginning. We cannot make socialist publicownership perfect without overcoming those contradictions. Publicownership cannot improve social productivity without coming across itsown historical limitation. Economic reforms now being practised in Chinaare an effort to improve socialist public ownership to reformtraditional forms of public ownership which have not satisfied thedevelopment of productivity. Socialism and public ownership are notfeatures for economically backward countries to flaunt. Neither are theyhistorical trends. They are a way to get rid of poverty, and to realisea modern commercial economy, a way different from the development routeof capitalism. There are historical necessity and economic rationalityfor that kind of socialist public ownership connected with economicdevelopment of backward countries. And, of course, socialist publicownership has its own inner contradictions and historical limitations,just like any other kind of ownership in history. It changes anddevelops continually. Socialist public ownership needs to improveitself, to realise its own development and evolution, and finally tomake assets of public ownership the social capital satisfying the demandof highly socialised productivity.
Comments on Some Controversial Problems in the Economic ReformKuan, Zhao L; Ti Ren, Yang
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110001505
The reason that the tenyear reform has encountered difficulties isnot that there are mistakes in the overall target to develop a commodityeconomic system, but that the decision makers cannot understand properlythe nature and structure of the commodity economic system and its marketmechanism. They take it for granted that a highly efficient marketmechanism will be formed if we practise letting the enterprisesmake their own business operation decisions and share the profits withthe government on the basis of the original highly centralisedproduct economic system, and they always try to combine the twoincompatible systems of product economy and commodity economy. Theradical reason that these two systems cannot be combined is that theirownershipprofit structures are mutually incompatible. The economictargets of the government, the enterprises, and the individual workersmust be rectified.
Some Views on the Choice of a Strategy for ReformWu, Jinglian
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110137398
After three years of economic reform in urban areas, China has beenconfronted with a series of choices. Six of these choices are examinedthe focus of the reform, its approach, its target, the pattern ofnational economic macromanagement, the macroeconomic policy, and thepace of the reform. It is held that the focus of the reform should bethe establishment of a planned commodity economic system, which is thecorrect target of the reform such a reform must be carried out step bystep, systematically and in the light of an integrated design worked outin advance, with greater paces to shorten the period in which twosystems confront each other the macromanagement of the economy shouldbe carried out by the central authority on the basis of an integratedmarket rather than administrative decentralisation the money supplyshould be controlled in order to create a relatively relaxed environmentfor reform. On each of the six aspects, other prevailing views areanalysed.
On Social Progress and MoralsGuojie, Luo
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110139233
There is an antinomy in the history of the world i.e. at the sametime as social progress there is moral degeneracy. Some people thinkthat the degeneracy is a necessary price paid for the reform of China.It is argued that the contradiction could have been avoided or reducedto the minimum if we paid enough attention to morals. The criteria ofproductive force and of morals are not in opposition, and the lattercannot be replaced by the former in judging actions. In the moral field,the former plays the role of the criterion of criteria itcan be used as a criterion only through certain established moraljudgements.
Mao Zedong's Concept of Chinese and Western CulturesShubai, Wang
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110139675
Mao Zedong was the representative figure in the Sinicisation ofMarxism. At the beginning of the May 4th Movement, he advocatedpromoting the transformation of society by proceeding from theactualities of China and inheriting critically the legacy of Chinese andWestern cultures. After he became a Marxist, he firmly resisted thetendency towards divination of the directives of the CommunistInternational, and the Soviet experience of revolution, and tried hardto integrate the universal principles of Marxism with Chinese cultureand Chinese revolutionary practice, thus opening up the way to therevolution in 1949. However, after the founding of the New China hepatterned the economic construction on the Soviet model, and stressedcriticism of the culture of the bourgeois, but dropped his guard againstthe pernicious influences of feudal society so the historical sedimentof the feudal culture became thicker and thicker under cover of Marxism,and finally there occurred the historical tragedy of the GreatLeap Forward and the Great Cultural Revolution. TheThird Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the ChineseCommunist Party repudiated the theoretical basis of the GreatCultural Revolution and brought in a new phase of politicalrestructuring and cultural openness. The author holds that the evolutionof Mao Zedongs concept of Chinese and Western cultures should bestudied and summarised, so that lessons may be drawn from it for thebuilding of a socialist spiritual civilisation.
Problems Regarding the Oriental Road of RevolutionShuming, Pan
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110139684
This article examines Marxs theoretical exploration of theoriental road of revolution. After three development stages of histheory of continuing revolution. Marx began to study the problems of theoriental revolution. His exploration makes clear that the reasons forcollapse of clans of various nationalities were different. Thereappeared a multithread development of history in the background ofextending genealogy by clan societies of different regions andnationalities, which embodied the different formations of socialstructure and the foundations of different historical development. Marxstood for distinguishing oriental village communes from the feudalsociety in Western Europe, thus opening the study of the theories of thehistorical press of oriental society. Marx opposed the theory ofhistorical philosophy that thoroughly turns the historical summary ofthe origin of capitalism in Western Europe into a general developmentroad. Under the influence of the Narodnits, Marx concentrated moreattention on the transformation of a village commune economic formation.He demonstrated that the duality of the village commune did notnecessarily lead to a transition from public ownership to privateownership it could absorb all the positive results the capitalistsystem had obtained without passing the Caudine Forks of the capitalistsystem. The author points to the world history of the continuingrevolution of socialism, which is determined by the world history ofcapitalism. In China, this problem was solved with the theories of acontinuing new democratic revolution and revolutionary developmentphase. The grounds of productive force for carrying out the socialistrevolution should be distinguished from the criteria of productiveforces for the realisation of socialism. In a certain sense, thequalitative stipulation on the criteria of socialist productive forcesis anthropological rather than economic.
Development and Reform of China's EducationDalin, Tong
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110143436
That education should be geared to modernisation, the worldand the future is the developmental trend of modern education andthe current orientation of educational reform. After the 1980s, threemajor historical currents emerged in the world peace and development,the new industrial revolution, and the ideological emancipationmovement. In the historical stage of peace and development, educationwill become the most important industry for various countries as theyseek subsistence, development and even supremacy. The new industrialrevolution has been signalled by the rapid development of theintellectual industries, mainly those of education, scientific research,and information. In the process of further expanding the use ofelectronic brains i.e. computers, lasers, geneticengineering, biological technology, superconductors and otherhightechnology, the potential for human brains namely the wisdom of human beings must be further tapped anddeveloped. Therefore research into the functions of the human brainsuch as observation, memory, thinking and imagination, and into theways and means of how best to develop its functions comprehensively, hasbecome the new subject of theory and practice in education. Futureeducation will certainly be international in concept.
On the Problem of Excessiveness of Family Education in ChinaYongxin, Zhu; Rongxian, Wu
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110137794
Recently in China there has been a problem of excessivenessof education, i.e. parents education of their children exceedscertain limits. This is considered under three categories 1 excessiveattachment to children in daily life 2 excessive care for childrensstudy and 3 use of excessive regular methods. Category 1 can leadto priority being given to the child to the detriment of other familymembers and at extreme financial cost. Category 2 in addition tofollowing school studies closely, parents often set extracurriculartests and studies for their children and work out unrealisticobjectives which they expect their children to achieve. Thisexerts great pressure on the children and has even led to cases ofsuicide. In Category 3 children are taught at home preschool to thedegree that they are welladvanced in studies when they enter primaryschool. This has the negative effects that children are tired of studybefore they even attend school or are bored because they have alreadylearned what they are now being taught. This continues throughouteducation with parents acting as second teachers.Excessive family education is seen to end in failure producing negativeinfluences on the development of childrens intelligence andpersonalities.
Some Strategic Problems Concerning Forestry Development in ChinaHou, Hsiohyu
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110145245
Forests should be thought of not merely as timber,but also as treasuries of plants and animals as well as greenreservoirs. The preservation and management of montane forestsare therefore of importance. Different ways should be adopted accordingto the corresponding conditions of four montane forest regions of China.Afforestation in the humid eastern plains and southern rolling hillsshould be paid great attention, because these areas have much morerainfall, deep and fertile soil and sufficient atmospheric heat.Protection forests planted on farmlands and along the southeasternseaboard not only raise the output of crops, but also provide timber,fuel and forage. It is necessary to strengthen the rewarding utilisationsystem of forest resources. The current irrational remuneration ofafforestation workers and forest engineering workers doing similar jobsbut for different wages must be changed.
Resolving Problems of Water Shortage in ChinaHou, Hsiohyu
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110145254
In order to resolve the problems of water shortage in China, oneshould consider the integration of irrigation projects, waterconservation and economical utilisation of water. Irrigation projectsmean exploiting water resources. To transport water from rivers beyondtheir own flowing reaches, it is necessary to prove its applicabilitybefore undertaking construction work. Sinking wells can be done only inareas with a plentiful amount of groundwater. Reservoirs also should beconstructed only in areas with sufficient water resources and where lessarable land has to be irrigated. Water conservation is connected closelywith afforestation or protection of forests as well as protection fromindustrial pollution. Economic utilisation of water resources includesusing water wisely to grow crops, and economising on its use in industryand for domestic purposes.
2000 AD Water Environment Problems of ChinaGuogang, Han; Fenglan, Jiang; Jimin, Yan
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110139224
The problems of water supply of China in 2000 are revealed bystatistical data. It is shown that 450 cities will be short of freshwater a great quantity is utilised in agriculture much of which can besaved groundwater is overextracted the level of water is falling byan average of 12mu each year which has caused the subsiding of regionalearth the quality of drinking water and of water utilised in industrybecomes poorer water resources are polluted because of the increase inorganic pollutants, the number and size of cities, the pollution ofnutrient and colon bacillus, the decrease in the area of lakes, theshortage of money for administration, the amount of polluted waterdrained without efficient treatment, the low reutilisation ratio ofwater, and the low rate of sewerage system development.
The Food Problem of China Institutional ShortageWang, Kerning
1991 International Journal of Social Economics
doi: 10.1108/03068299110004296
China is undergoing economic and political reforms. The aspectfocused on is the problem of food supply. The Institute of DevelopmentStudies, of the State Councils Rural Research Centre, has donecomprehensive research on this project and found many unprecedentedfeatures of this food crisis. The IDS identifies Chinasfood problem as an institutional shortage and irrational foodconsumption pattern, quite different from that of other countries,capitalist or socialist. They raised some proposals in solving theproblem. This article is a detailed report on the research.