Communism
Basic concepts
Marxist philosophy
Class struggle
Proletarian internationalism
Communist party
Ideologies
Marxism  Leninism  Maoism
Trotskyism  Juche
Left  Council
Religious  Anarchist
Communist internationals
Communist League
First International
Second International
Comintern
Fourth International
Prominent communists
Marx and Engels
Vladimir Lenin
Rosa Luxemburg
Joseph Stalin
Leon Trotsky
Mao Zedong
Related subjects
Anti-capitalism
Anti-communism
Communist state
Criticisms of communism
Democratic centralism
Dictatorship of the proletariat
Eurocommunism
History of communism
Left-wing politics
Luxemburgism
New Class  New Left
Post-Communism
Primitive communism
Socialism  Stalinism
Socialist economics
Titoism
Communism Portal This box: view • talk • edit

This article is about the term itself and its relationships. For its implementation and effects see Economy of the People's Republic of China and Chinese economic reform.

"Socialism with Chinese characteristics" (Traditional Chinese: simplified Chinese: 具有中国特色的社会主义, Pronunciation (help· info): Jùyǒu Zhōngguó tèsè de shèhuìzhǔyì) is an official term for the economy of the People's Republic of China which as of 2007 consists of the state having ownership of a large fraction of the Chinese economy, while at the same time having all entities participate within a market economy. This is a form of a socialist market economy and differs from market socialism and mixed economy in that while the state retained ownership of large enterprises, it does not use this ownership to intervene to change prices which are set by the market. Image File history File links Hammer_and_sickle. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ... Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are terms which cover work in philosophy which is strongly influenced by Karl Marxs materialist approach to theory or which is written by Marxists. ... The South African Police Crush Another Demonstration by the Shack dwellers Movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, 28 September, 2007 Class struggle is the active expression of class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. ... International Socialism redirects here. ... In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ... Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism refers to various related political and economic theories elaborated by Bolshevik revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin, and by other theorists who claim to be carrying on Lenins work. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... The Juche Idea (also Juche Sasang or Chuche; pronounced // in Korean, approximately joo-cheh) is the official state ideology of North Korea and the political system based on it. ... Left Communism is a term describing a whole range of communist viewpoints which oppose the political ideas of the Bolsheviks from a position which is asserted to be more authentically Marxist and proletarian than the views held by the Communist International after its first two Congresses. ... Council communism is a Radical Left movement originating in Germany and the Netherlands in the 1920s. ... Religious communism is a form of communism centered on religious principles. ... Libertarian Communism redirects here. ... See Communist League (disambiguation) for other groups of the same name. ... The International Workingmens Association (IWA), sometimes called the First International, was an international socialist organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing political groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class and class struggle. ... The phrase Second International has two meanings: For the international association of socialist parties of the late 19th century, see Second International (politics) and a successor organization, the Socialist International For one of the Merriam-Webster dictionaries of American English, see Websters New International Dictionary, Second Edition This is... The Comintern (Russian: Коммунистический Интернационал, Kommunisticheskiy Internatsional – Communist International, also known as the Third International) was an international Communist organization founded in March 1919, in the midst of the war communism period (1918-1921), by Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik), which intended to fight by all available means, including... For other uses, see Fourth International (disambiguation). ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was a 19th century philosopher, political economist, and revolutionary. ... Engels redirects here. ... Lenin redirects here. ... Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (March 5, 1870 or 1871 – January 15, 1919, in Polish Róża Luksemburg) was a Jewish Polish-born Marxist political theorist, socialist philosopher, and revolutionary. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from... Leon Trotsky (Russian:  , Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij, Trockij and Trotzky) (November 7 [O.S. October 26] 1879 – August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein (), was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. ... Mao redirects here. ... This article lists ideologies opposed to capitalism and describes them briefly. ... Anti-communism refers to opposition to communism. ... This article is about a form of government in which the state operates under the control of a Communist Party. ... This article is on criticisms of communism, a branch of socialism. ... Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party. ... The dictatorship of the proletariat is a term employed by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program that refers to a transition period between capitalist and communist society in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat. The term refers to a... Eurocommunism was a new trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the partyline of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... This article intentionally focuses only on the history of communism as a self-contained, self-aware political movement. ... Left wing redirects here. ... Luxemburgism (also written Luxembourgism) is a specific revolutionary theory within communism, based on the writings of Rosa Luxemburg. ... The new class is a term to describe the privileged ruling class of bureaucrats and Communist party functionaries which typically arises in a Stalinist communist state. ... The New Left is a term used in different countries to describe left-wing movements that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Post-Communism is a name sometimes given to the period of political and economic transition in former communist states located in parts of Europe and Asia, usually transforming into a free market capitalist and globalized economy. ... Primitive communism, according to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is the original society of humanity. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... For architecture, see Stalinist architecture. ... Socialist economics is a broad, and sometimes controversial, term. ... Titoism is a term describing political ideology named after Yugoslav leader, Josip Broz Tito, primarily used to describe the schism between the Soviet Union and Socialist Yugoslavia after the Second World War (see Cominform) when the Communist Party of Yugoslavia refused to take further dictates from Moscow. ... The economies of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau are separate from the rest of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Economic reforms have triggered internal migrations within China. ... Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. ... Image File history File links Chinese-Socialism_with_Chinese_characteristics. ... Market socialism is an attempt by a Soviet-style economy to introduce market elements into its economic system to improve economic growth. ... Market socialism is a term used to define a number of economic system(s) in which the means of production are owned either by the state or by the workers collectively, however unlike traditional socialism there is market that is directed and guided by socialist planners. ... A mixed economy is an economy that has a mix of economic systems. ...

John Gittings in The Changing Face of China quotes Deng Xiaoping as stating: Deng Xiaoping   (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904 – February 19, 1997) was a prominent Chinese politician and reformer, and the late leader of the Communist Party of China (CCP). ...

"Planning and market forces are not the essential difference between socialism and capitalism. A planned economy is not the definition of socialism, because there is planning under capitalism; the market economy happens under socialism, too. Planning and market forces are both ways of controlling economic activity." ^[1]

The PRC government maintains that it has not abandoned Marxism, but is simply developed many of the terms and concepts of Marxist theory to accommodate its new economic system. The ruling Communist Party of China argues that socialism is not incompatible with these economic policies. In current Chinese Communist thinking, the PRC is in the primary stage of socialism, and this redefinition allows the PRC to undertake whatever economic policies are needed to develop into an industrialized nation. Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community[1] for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ...

See Chinese economic reform for the history of Socialism with Chinese characteristics. Economic reforms have triggered internal migrations within China. ...

Marxist theory

According to Technological Determinism & Socialism with Chinese Characteristics:

"new economic development strategy based upon decentralization of control over the state owned enterprise sector, expanded market transactions to replace command and control allocation, dismantling of the rural commune system (completed in 1985), increased use of material incentives in workplaces, and ultimately, upon the modernization of the Chinese economic infrastructure (as well as the military infrastructure). This last aspect of their strategy represents more than a mere objective. Modernization represents the mission of the pragmatists. Deng Xiaoping rejected the Maoist tendency to forswear the technological trappings of the so-called West (including soft technology in the form of social relationships) and embraced the idea that modernity required copying many of the traits of the Western capitalist nations." ^[2]

In Marxist theory, history progresses through a number of stages from slave society to feudal society to capitalist society to socialist society to communist society. In Maoist theory, the revolution of 1949 was an irreversible change from capitalism to socialism. The Communist Party of China argues that therefore China is still socialist. Marxist theory is an academic specialization in Western academias. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Deng Xiaoping

According to Necessary Chinese Illusions:

"Chinese professor Han Deqiang in his paper Chinese Cultural Revolution: Failure and Theoretical Originality examined the demise of communism in China. Han detailed how from its very beginning the communist revolutionary government had been infiltrated by a capitalist faction which had established itself within the bureaucracy. Prominent among the bureaucrats was Deng Xiaoping." ^[3]

Deng Xiaoping on June 30, 1984 said: Deng Xiaoping   (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904 – February 19, 1997) was a prominent Chinese politician and reformer, and the late leader of the Communist Party of China (CCP). ... is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

"What is socialism and what is Marxism? We were not quite clear about this in the past. Marxism attaches utmost importance to developing the productive forces. We have said that socialism is the primary stage of communism and that at the advanced stage the principle of from each according to his ability and to each according to his needs will be applied. This calls for highly developed productive forces and an overwhelming abundance of material wealth. Therefore, the fundamental task for the socialist stage is to develop the productive forces. The superiority of the socialist system is demonstrated, in the final analysis, by faster and greater development of those forces than under the capitalist system. As they develop, the people's material and cultural life will constantly improve. One of our shortcomings after the founding of the People's Republic was that we didn't pay enough attention to developing the productive forces. Socialism means eliminating poverty. Pauperism is not socialism, still less communism." ^[4]

Communist Party of China

Wang Yu on behalf of the Communist Party of China in January 2004 said: Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

"production stagnated for a long time. There was little improvement in people’s quality of life, and China’s gap with developed economies widened further. All of this made Chinese Communists ask themselves time and again the following questions: Where on earth was the superiority of socialism? Was socialism rich or poor? What is revolution and what was its purpose? The theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, which took the development of the productive forces as its fundamental task, came into being amid and as a result of these reflections and reviews." ^[5]

Criticism

Several schools of communism, most notably those who subscribe to Maoism and North Korea's Juche ideology criticize Deng's "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" as outright Marxist revisionism that inevitably leads to the "capitalist road". They argue that the idea ignores the fundamental concept of class struggle and overlooks the importance of egalitarianism in a socialist society. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Juche Idea (also Juche Sasang or Chuche; pronounced // in Korean, approximately joo-cheh) is the official state ideology of North Korea and the political system based on it. ... Chinese poster from the first stage of the Cultural Revolution, reading: Down with the Soviet revisionists in large print, and Crush the dog head of Leonid Brezhnev and Alexey Kosygin at the bottom, 1967 The term revisionism is also used to refer to other concepts. ... The essentially Maoist concept of capitalist roader (走资派）denotes persons or groups on the political left who demonstrate a marked tendency to bow to pressure from bourgeois forces and subsequently attempt to pull the Revolution in a capitalist direction, and eventually restore the political and economic rule of capitalism--hence the... The South African Police Crush Another Demonstration by the Shack dwellers Movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, 28 September, 2007 Class struggle is the active expression of class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. ...

Libertarians argue that the mix of state ownership and market economics is unstable because private ownership is inherently necessary for economic entities to exist in a market economy. This article is about the political philosophy based on private property rights. ...

Meanwhile, those of the Chinese democracy movement and the west criticize the idea as an empty tag to legitimize continued rule of the Communist Party of China. The Chinese democracy movement (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , abbreviated as Mínyùn 民运) is a loosely organized political movement in mainland China against continued one-party rule by the Communist Party of China. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ...

See also

• Jiang Zemin's Three Represents theory
• Seek truth from facts
• Four Modernizations
• market socialism
• This Time, China Is Different
• Đổi mới

The Three Represents (Simplified Chinese: 三个代表; Traditional Chinese: 三個代表; pinyin: sān gè dài biÇŽo) is a policy developed by Jiang Zemin for the Communist Party of China. ... Seek truth from facts (Chinese: 实事求是, pinyin: shí shì qiú shì) is a slogan in the Peoples Republic of China referring to pragmatism. ... The Four Modernizations (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) were the goals of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms. ... Market socialism is a term used to define a number of economic system(s) in which the means of production are owned either by the state or by the workers collectively, however unlike traditional socialism there is market that is directed and guided by socialist planners. ... Đổi má»›i (renovation) is the name given to the economic reforms initiated by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1986. ...

Sources

1. ^ Cited by John Gittings in The Changing Face of China, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2005. ISBN 0-19-280612-2
2. ^ *Technological Determinism & Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
3. ^ Necessary Chinese Illusions : Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
4. ^ Deng Xiaoping on BUILD SOCIALISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS on June 30, 1984
5. ^ Our Way: Building Socialism with Chinese Characteristics By Wang Yu on behalf of the Communist Party of China (2004 January)