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Why China is No Longer a Communist Country
Written by Robert Vance on July 25, 2008 – 12:28 pmI saw Chairman Mao one time in Beijing. Or at least I thought it was Chairman Mao. I was only able to glance at him for five short seconds before a somber faced security guard prodded myself and hundreds of other people out of the Chairman Mao Mausoleum and back onto Tiananmen Square. Yes, Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic of China still takes up residence in Beijing. Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world throw flowers at his casket every year; they crane their necks as I did to get a glimpse of China’s ‘great’ leader.
While Mao’s body has been amazingly preserved since his death in 1976, it seems that his spirit has not survived the test of time. He may lie in eternal peace inside his Mausoleum but the world around him has changed considerably; China is no longer the gray and drab country that it was during Mao’s time. It is now a place where people can dream and then go out and make that dream come true. It is not like the old days. People other than just high government officials can drive cars. Chinese people can do business and store up wealth for themselves. Peasants can go to the university now; finding food to eat is no longer such a grave concern. Just around the corner from where Chairman Mao lies in State, the American restaurant chain McDonald’s is full of Chinese people enjoying greasy food and a cool environment. Inside homes, people can watch Western movies on DVD and even occasionally on state owned television. The world is just a mouse click away for the millions of Chinese people who have access to the Internet. Friends and family are no longer afraid of discussing politics with each other. It is even acceptable to criticize the government behind closed doors. All this is happening as Chairman Mao sleeps peacefully at Tiananmen Square. If only he knew.
I recently asked my Chinese friends how they thought Chairman Mao would react if he was suddenly brought back to life in the 21st century. “Not happy” and “Disappointed” were the most common answers that I received; I was not surprised by such responses. After all, it is difficult to find very many reasons to label China as communist these days. The ruling party in China still calls itself communist. The international media still likes to refer to China as a communist giant. But where is communism still manifested in China today? Where are the basic Communist values of sharing and equality evident in Chinese society now? They cannot be found. Quite simply, China is no longer a communist country.
If we are looking for evidence of communism in China, the first and most important place to look is at the economy. The economy in China is now decidedly capitalistic in nature. Average Chinese citizens can start their own businesses and put their income into private bank accounts. Chinese citizens can buy stocks in companies and enjoy the revenues or suffer the losses. As of just a few years ago, private property rights have been greatly enhanced in China, and Chinese people can now be more secure that their land will not be taken away from them. Let us not forget about the heavy international investment that has been permitted in China which has played a major role in fueling this developing and booming economy. As a result, there are very rich people and very poor people in China as well as an emerging middle class. Chinese citizens, who always carried a good sense for business but were restricted from entrepreneurship in the past have now been more free to take risks and build successful companies. Thus capitalism has transformed the Chinese economy and changed people’s lives forever.
Does the Chinese government still maintain strict control of the economy in China? Absolutely. Is there a free market in China in the true sense of the word? Of course not. But where is there truly a free market in the world? Does one exist? Can someone show me a country where the government is not heavily invovled in its nation’s economy? The CCP’s control on China’s economy may be unusually tight but it has been weakening very slowly over the past 30 years.
People often ask me about human rights when we are discussing whether or not China is still communist. There is undoubtedly still a major problem with human rights in China. Citizens are still beaten by the police when they are arrested. Christians are still persecuted for worshipping in unregistered churches. Women are still being forced to have abortions if they are discovered to be pregnant with a second “illegal” child. But even the issue of human rights really has little to do with China’s status as a communist country. There are many other countries in the world, such as Sudan and Zimbabwe, for example, that are also guilty of human right atrocities which we do not label as communist. What about Hitler and Mussolini? They murdered their own people but yet their systems of government were labeled differently. Human rights violations do not just belong to communism; they transcend all political parties and systems. They can happen anywhere.
If there is one place in China where we can still see some elements of the old communist system still at work, perhaps it is in the structure of the Chinese Communist Party itself which has not changed drastically since Mao’s time. But the CPC has changed greatly in terms of its ideology since Chairman Mao left the helm. Following the death of Chairman Mao, Deng Xiaoping sought to restructure the Communist Party and move towards what he called “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” Since then, it appears that the CPC has more or less rejected the fierce Marxism that fueled early Chinese communism instead choosing to take a more socialistic approach to the obstacles that confront the country. While the Chinese people still have little say in what goes on in their government, the Chairman of China is no longer such a cult personality as before and these days the burden of policy making is being shared by more and more people in the government. There is still one party rule in China but the power is no longer so concentrated in one man’s hand.
If China is no longer communist, then how can it be labeled? “China is now a socialist country,” some Chinese students explained to me while we were discussing world political systems recently. They told me how these days, for a mere 15 (just over 2 USD) RMB per year, some form of limited health insurance is available to almost every Chinese citizen. Senior citizens who are unable to fully support themselves can apply for some financial help from the government. There are also a number of programs available to help underprivileged students go to the university. “Our government helps the poor much more now,” they tell me. ”It is much easier to get help now.” Most of the Chinese people I talk with agree with this sentiment although many still prefer the communist label.
Two questions thus remain. First, if China is no longer a communist country, then why does the Communist Party still hold on to its name? Second, why does the world still insist on labeling China as a communist country if it has moved so far towards a quasi-socialist system with capitalist characteristics? It is easy to arrive at an answer for the first question. Marxism may have disappeared from the Party ideology in China, but nationalism is as strong as ever in China. The mere mention of the Communist Party and all the great deeds it has done for China invokes pride and adoration in the average Chinese person’s heart. In this way, Chairman Mao, while his ideals may have died with him, still lives on as an icon which can excite the Chinese people and remind them how far they have come and far they can still go. Maintaining the communist label can also benefit the Chinese government in that it can compare itself to North Korea and Cuba. When the world complains about ‘communist’ China and all of its problems, the Chinese government can simply point to the two other communist governments and remind the world how far China has come. In this way, China can always be the world’s ‘favorite Communist country.’ The second question is not so easy to answer. However, there is no question that the United States government, for example, can benefit from still labeling the Chinese government as communist. The U.S. does view China as a threat and any future confrontation with the PRC will most assuredly be waged under the banner of ‘fighting communism.’ Human rights organizations are also prone to label China as communist because it helps their cause. People in the West are and have always been afraid of communism and for good reason. Government and human rights organizations are more likely to garner support from the public if the name ‘communism’ is invoked in their rhetoric.
Thus, I must agree with my friends and students. Chairman Mao would most likely be very unhappy with the state of current affairs in China if he were brought back to life. Instead of a nation of destitute and poor peasants struggling to find food, China is now a country featuring rich and poor people as well as success and failure. It is a nation that has tasted of the fruits of capitalism and yearns for more. There is little equality here but at least there is now room for social mobility. Everyday, I hear of great success stories; I hear of people who worked hard and made a comfortable life for themselves and their family. And as the world witnessed in the aftermath of the Sichan earthquake, those in China who do have more are willing to give to help their fellow citizens. This is how communism works best; when it comes from the heart.
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Looking over the fact that China was never a “communist country”, the fact that someone has to write an editorial about why China isn’t communist in order to sway perceptions seems wrong.
China -> adoration, respect, mao, atrocities,
usa ->adoration, respect, founding fathers, atrocities, slavery.
I have a friend in college in Chengdu. Her good friend/classmate has a brother in the Sichuan government (their parents are well off and paid the fine for having 2 children). To get his foot in the door, the family had to pay for his position within the bureaucracy. Recently, in order to be promoted, they had to pay again, this time several “wan” (ten-thousand) RMB.
Whether you think this is right or wrong or corrupt, it sure isn’t very communist-like. It looks like the party is replacing ideological purity with cash. Indeed, what would Mao think?
Did China call itself a Communist country? The answer is NO.
China tries to be a socialist country. Don’t be mistaken to think that I am defending corruption. I just want to help get the terminology right.
@sky,
That is kind of a hit and run comment. What do you mean “China was never a ‘communist’ country?
@totochi,
The situation is still really bad in China. I agree. But as you mentioned, “it isn’t very communist like.” China is on the right path I think but there is still much work to be done.
@yugung,
I didn’t say that China calls itself a Communist country. I was simply pointing out that the ruling party’s name has not changed. I think that the ruling party seeks to hold on to the “communist” legacy at least for the time being.
“Sky” is right.
Even during the Mao era China called itself a socialist country.
Cuba is also a socialist country.
@Yugung,
Well let’s see. One of Mao’s best friends was a man named Li Dazhou. Ever heard of him? He was a leading Marxist in the early 20th century and guess what? Mao became a convinced Marxist. Who was Marx? He was the founder (the inventor) shall we say of Communism. And then there were the peasant uprisings that Mao organized. A revolution against the ‘ruling class.’ Hmmm. Where did he get that idea? Lenin. Yes, our good friend Lenin. Another important contributor to Communism. And this is before Mao even took power. Come on. What was socialist about China during Mao’s years? The guy was in love with communism. He admired Stalin and Russia. Soviet films were shown to the peasants so that they could understand what they could attain under communist rule. China was communist with one major difference. Instead of the workers paradise that Marx promised, it was a living hell.
A well-explained article once again Robert! I always enjoy pointing out that China is not Communist any longer to Americans by noting that the Communist Party even allows for business people to join. Then I ask them how they can still describe it as Communist given all the other info you described above. Pretty much it’s the concept that as long as the ruling party still is called Communist, then the nation is Communist regardless of how reality on the ground is.
Then I like to have fun with Chinese by pointing out that China is now more capitalistic than the US. China does not have a social welfare system like the US, no strong minimum wage laws (this has been changing), no unemployment benefits, etc.
Yes, it’s debating to make trouble, but it can be fun to see how people react either way.
RV,
You missed the point completely.
Mao is a Communist, but China is not a Communist country and has never call itself a communist country since the founding of the PRC.
The British Labour Party is a Socialist Party, but I have never heard of any one calling UK a Socialist country, have you?
You a an English teacher. You should use these terms more accurately.
What, no discussion of how the capitalist-roaders under Deng Xiaoping siezed control of the Party and betrayed the People’s Revolution? Seriously, how can you talk about communism without knowing these dialectics?
@Demerzel,
Thanks for your comments. In other parts of the web, I am being slammed as a Communist sympathizer or a “fellow traveler” as one man put it. I wish people would realize that I am not letting China off the hook. I am not condoning the continued human rights violations in China. There is still a lot of work to be done. I don’t know what the deal is. I guess there are a lot of people out there who can’t stand the fact that maybe some things have changed in China. Maybe there have been even some positive changes….
Yugung said,
You missed the point completely.
Mao is a Communist, but China is not a Communist country and has never call itself a communist country since the founding of the PRC.
The British Labour Party is a Socialist Party, but I have never heard of any one calling UK a Socialist country, have you?
You a an English teacher. You should use these terms more accurately.
Robert says:
Aren’t you going out on a limb with that argument? How is the British Labour party relevant to this discussion? In case you haven’t noticed, Britian has more than ONE political party whereas the same political party has been ruling China since 1949. You are comparing apples and oranges…
And, by the way, I wouldn’t be so sure that no one calls the UK a socialist country. Might want to look around to see what people are saying about that. There are people who do think that the UK is VERY socialist and has been for a LONG time.
There has never been a country that has truly been able to implement what Marx wrote about in is communist manifesto. But come on. If any country got close, at least for a little while, it was China. I mean, what’s your argument? Has there ever truly been a communist country in the world in your opinion? The point is, Mao was a true believer in Marxism. He led the country from 1949 to 1976 as the head of the Communist Party in China. He tried to establish an economy in China based on communism. He tried to get rid of religion. As I mentioned before, he was admirer of Soviet Russia and made sure the Chinese people got a good dose of Soviet propaganda.
Look, I didn’t say that the current Communist Party refers to China as a Communist country.But they are still the Communist Party and the leadership knows that for as long as they retain that label, the world will refer to China as a Communist country. I don’t think they mind….
I and my family lived in China for 5 years doing import export and foreign investment work. I can tell you this, China is communist. Without a doubt, it is. They have indeed claimed this for years (since Mao brought it in from the USSR) and they claim it now. I’m not sure where you are getting the ideals that they are not and have never claimed to be but this is simply false. Just because a country moves toward capitalism and a more free economic lifestyle doen’t necessarily mean they are turning their backs on communism. China has been trying to make this economic move for centuries but could not because of the communist government and their strict noose on the rights of the people. Believe me, China is only doing this NOW because of the olympic games! They are putting on a false face to the world that they are something that they are not. They claim religious, political and civil rights openly but practice opressive communist tactics behind the scenes. Unless you live there for a long period of time you can never understand this. I do not claim to be an expert on China. I surely am not. But I know what I know from experience. Ask ANY Chinese person what form of government China practices; they will ALL tell you communism.
Is that true? Since the founding of the PRC in 1949, the Communist Party of China has never said that China was a “communist” country? Or are we specifically talking about China since Deng Xiaoping and 具有中国特色的社会主义 (socialism with Chinese characteristics)?
Here is the first paragraph of the Chinese constitution amended and adopted in 2002 (http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/49109.htm):
“The Communist Party of China is the vanguard both of the Chinese working class and of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. It is the core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and represents the development trend of China’s advanced productive forces, the orientation of China’s advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. The realization of communism is the highest ideal and ultimate goal of the Party.”
I guess you can argue that China is not a “communist state” since by Karl Marx defined communism as “the final phase of history at which time the state would have withered away.” However, it does state pretty emphatically that the goal is communism.
The Chinese constitution also states:
“China is at the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long period of time. This is a historical stage which cannot be skipped in socialist modernization in China that is backward economically and culturally. It will last for over a hundred years.”
I don’t think China is backwards economically and culturally, even back in 2002. However, it does not appear the state will disappear soon to make that final transition from “socialism” to “communism”; the money and power is too good to give up for those in charge.
One of Robert’s question is “What would Mao think if he was alive today?” I think he’d be happy if he was Hu Jintao, and not so excited if he was a peasant farmer that was forced out of his home by the local government + developers.
Clark Said,
Believe me, China is only doing this NOW because of the olympic games! They are putting on a false face to the world that they are something that they are not. They claim religious, political and civil rights openly but practice opressive communist tactics behind the scenes. Unless you live there for a long period of time you can never understand this. I do not claim to be an expert on China. I surely am not. But I know what I know from experience. Ask ANY Chinese person what form of government China practices; they will ALL tell you communism.
Robert Vance says:
Thanks for your comments. So at what point are we able to stop calling a country communist? Do we have to wait until China is exactly like the United States? Do we have to wait until there is a democracy installed? I appreciate the fact that you realize that human rights is still a major issue here. I completely agree. But the argument that I am making is that human rights violations are not exclusive to communism. Sudan, Zimbabwe, etc…these places also have human rights problems but we do not call them communist, do we?
You said,
Believe me, China is only doing this NOW because of the olympic games!
What exactly is China doing NOW because of the Olympic Games? The changes that I describe in this post began to happen long before Beijing could even dream of hosting the Games. Yet, even now, in the last few days, China has once again arrested a prominent blogger and is promising to crackdown on protests at the Olympics. Yes, human rights is still a major issue that the U.S. and other countries need to continuing pressuring Beijing on but they do not make China a communist country.
You say,
But I know what I know from experience. Ask ANY Chinese person what form of government China practices; they will ALL tell you communism.
Many Chinese people that I know tell me that China is now a socialist country. I mentioned this in my article. Many of my friends and students know that communism has a bad name around the world so they prefer that China be referred to as socialist.
I think any named system applying on China is not correct. China is now the hybrid system on the way toward free market. The reform in economy is fast and polictical reform is lagged behind the economy. There are lots of areas from all level, grassroot toward high level, waiting for the improvement.
Simply discussion of what kind of system China belongs to is non-sense.
Communism itself is good idea according to its definition. It askes human being to contribute more to the sociaty than getting benefit. But actually due to the human being’s native drawback, it’s hard to implement. But it’s not fault of communism itself.
Like christian, Christian itself is a good religion, but it could be utilized by human being doing ugly things, like 10 times crusade wars etc. We could not say Christian is bad due to so many wars. It’s the problem of human being itself who took advantage of the religion to get their own personal profit.
In terms of religion, Christian is better than communism. Because communism could be tested in the real world. But for Christian’s heaven, none of living human being could be there to see whether it’s best place or worse.
@Clark,
“Just because a country moves toward capitalism and a more free economic lifestyle doe[s]n’t necessarily mean they are turning their backs on communism.”
That’s the very antonym of Communism…more economic lifestyle and capitalism is the exact polar opposite. More freedom in lifestyle is not about Communism where everyone has to have the same level of living. More capitalism…once again Communism is about moving away from money and free markets, not towards it.
“China has been trying to make this economic move for centuries but could not because of the communist government and their strict noose on the rights of the people. Believe me, China is only doing this NOW because of the [O]lympic games!”
I presume you meant decades as China was once a powerhouse of economic activity many centuries ago with silver being its source of currency. China in fact moved towards a freer economic system way before they even got ahold of the Olympic games starting in the 1980s under Deng Xiaoping. I think you’re confusing authoritarianism (lack of political freedom, but some freedoms in economics) with Communism (lack of political and lack of economic freedom).
@Jason,
“I think any named system applying on China is not correct. China is now the hybrid system on the way toward free market. The reform in economy is fast and poli[t]ical reform is lagged behind the economy. There are lots of areas from all level, grassroot[s] toward high level, waiting for the improvement.”
Very apt–I believe China has been taking advantage of globalization climate and China’s own competitive uniqueness to develop. It certainly has taken similarities of different development tactics for different business niches in order to develop.
Like fashion, people take fashion as a statement of their personality or pursuit. But if you mix them up a little, becoming your own style, most people become confused at first, it takes a while to kick in and be accepted.
Using “ideology” to form your constitution is risky, China knows better now.
@Check and Balance,
I hope you are right, but I am not so sure. Many people here seem to think that what we are witnessing now in China is simply a ’socialist’ stage that will lead to the last stage of communism. After all, is that not what Deng Xiaoping envisioned? Let some people get rich so eventually they can share with everyone else? (strongly encouraged to do so by the government of course). Whenever my students bring this up I always ask them why they think those ‘rich people’ are going to want to share with everyone else. What do you think? Are there still those in the central government who do believe in the merits of communism?
The term “sociolist” itself is a vague word. Even in the democratic country, the parties’ manifesto give emphasis toward sociolism to gain the sympathy from the voters.
[...] few months ago, I wrote an post entitled Why China is no longer a Communist Country. In the article, I detailed how China’s development over the past 30 years has taken it away [...]
China has done a very poor job at applying Marx’s ideas I feel. It gives communism a bad name. People associate communism with all these terrible things that these corrupt countries have done.
Just because you claim to be a communist nation, and then not follow any of Marx’s ideologies, doesn’t make you a communist.
I don’t think the problem arises from Marxism or the ideology at all. Its the people who apply it. To say communism is evil, or oppressive ect. based on the actions of so called communist nations is not very accurate. you cant dismiss an entire school of thought based on such poor examples. I am currently starting a paper on why China isn’t an accurate example of true communism. if anyone has any sources or info on this topic i would very much appreciate it.
China is not communist - it is facist state !!!!!!!!!!
socilaism with \chinese cahracteristis, harmoniouis society (duh), Mao \\zedong thought, the Three Represents - dribble.
CCP is facist - plain and simple and the world should ttreat as so. - not give then Olynpics, impose trade restrictions tied to human rights, freedom of association, speech, separtion of state and judicaiary and so on.
Name one nation in history accused of stet orna harvesting ??
Technically speaking, China is no longer a purely Communist country, being only still ‘Communist’ now in ‘name’ only….There is no point in changing the name from ‘Communist’ China to something softer or more agreeable to the rest of the world, for that might imply ‘renouncing’ the Communist past’ , which might remind the Chinese people that the Communist Party of China actually inflicted many dastardly, evil deeds on the Chinese people, or that a very large percentage of the population had, or still HAS blood on their hands……Far better to simply just sweep these ‘unpleasant’ memories back under the carpet or let sleeping dogs lie..Because the Chinese victimizers and their victims are all now united in their mindless Capitalism and their insane quest to ‘make as much money as fast as possible’
@j.macklby,
Agreed. However, as many have pointed out, ‘fascist’ is a label that could easily be applied to China these days which in my estimation, is no better sounding than ‘communist’. In writing the article, I am certainly not suggesting that China’s government gets a pass now that China is no longer technically communist or that we should forget about the terrible things that have been perpetrated by the government upon the people here.
who wrote about china not being communist?
explian communist youth league/ tiannenmen square
@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,
Instead of annoying us with a long line of xxxxxx’s why not just choose a random name if you are so worried about protecting your identity.
I wrote the article. My name is Robert Vance. What do you want me to explain about the Communist Youth League and Tiananmen Square?
I didn’t say there isn’t still a party in China that calls itself the Communist Party…
I assume that you are referring to the massacre of students in Tiananmen Square? That happened nearly 20 years ago, my friend. Again, I didn’t say that the Chinese government is anything to be proud of. I was simply pointing out that the economy and some aspects of politics in China are no longer communist in nature. Doesn’t mean that China is heaven on earth….
Somehow I think that Chairman Mao might wake up, look around, and go back to sleep with a smile on his lips. China is robust and is a country to be reckoned with. I don’t think he cared that much how it happened, but that it did.
Maybe Chairman Mao was simply concerned with mobilizing and modernizing the nation and the most efficient way to reach that goal was by utilizing socialist or communist tactics?