5.4.5 Globalization and China
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5.4.5 Globalization and Communism
Is there a connection between globalization and freedom?
Communism and capitalism are opposing economic systems.
Capitalism is based on economic freedom. Usually, it is associated with democracy or political freedom where people choose their own leaders and the ideas about how the country
should be managed.
Communism means one political party in a country. Members of the party elect leaders but regular citizens do not have a meaningful vote. In terms of the economy, in theory, all
the means of production (land, labour, capital) is owned and managed by the government, which redistributes the wealth for the good of everyone.
China was exploited by imperialist powers for centuries. After World War II, China became a communist nation. It expelled most foreigners, including foreign corporations, and focused on its own development by ignoring the remainder of the world. It concentrated on equality for everyone. Many people worked in communal farms or in large factories where the profits were shared by everyone. The rich had their property taken but the poor, most of whom were poverty-stricken peasant farmers, did better. In fact, almost everyone in China made the same amount of money no matter what kind of work they did. China traded only with other communist countries. People from other countries could not visit. Communication was limited.
In the early 1980s, China began to change. It began to open itself to visitors. Farmers were given small plots of land for their own use. By the early 1990s, China moved to a free-market economy. Consumption and production doubled, then they doubled again. Most households now have at least one colour TV. Many people own cars. Refrigerators and washing machines (rare before 1990) are common in cities.
Today, the population of China is 1.3 billion. It has many natural resources and a huge supply of people willing to work for wages that are much lower than wages in Europe, the United States, and Canada, for example.
China was exploited by imperialist powers for centuries. After World War II, China became a communist nation. It expelled most foreigners, including foreign corporations, and focused on its own development by ignoring the remainder of the world. It concentrated on equality for everyone. Many people worked in communal farms or in large factories where the profits were shared by everyone. The rich had their property taken but the poor, most of whom were poverty-stricken peasant farmers, did better. In fact, almost everyone in China made the same amount of money no matter what kind of work they did. China traded only with other communist countries. People from other countries could not visit. Communication was limited.
In the early 1980s, China began to change. It began to open itself to visitors. Farmers were given small plots of land for their own use. By the early 1990s, China moved to a free-market economy. Consumption and production doubled, then they doubled again. Most households now have at least one colour TV. Many people own cars. Refrigerators and washing machines (rare before 1990) are common in cities.
Today, the population of China is 1.3 billion. It has many natural resources and a huge supply of people willing to work for wages that are much lower than wages in Europe, the United States, and Canada, for example.
Chinese manufacturing
Courtesy of Edward Burtynsky
Courtesy of Edward Burtynsky
China has used globalization to generate greater prosperity for all. In the early 1980s, China began to experiment with a market economy after decades of central planning. It established a few special economic zones along its coast. Through a series of Five-Year Plans, more transnational corporations have been permitted to establish workplaces in China or they have outsourced work to Chinese factories. The pace of globalization has increased but with some control from the central government. Individual citizens and companies are allowed to own property and make profits but only with the permission of the ruling Communist Party. By maintaining government control, China can protect its citizens from some of the problems of globalization, including exploitation and control by powerful transnationals.
Do you remember what happened in Haiti? Under IMF regulations, the government of Haiti stopped subsidizing rice farmers. Cheaper American rice was imported, and the Haitian growers no longer had a market. This led to great unemployment and, eventually, greater poverty for a country that was already the poorest nation in the northern hemisphere.
By controlling the way in which globalization affects the people of China, its government can work towards achieving prosperity for all of its people.
However, the people of China are not politically free. Remember that during the Industrial Revolution in Europe, when people gained economic power, they demanded political power as well. That does not seem to be happening in China — it is ruled by the communist party and no other political parties are permitted.
Has China has succeeded on its own terms?