Modern China pt. 4: The Deng Reform Period to Today w/ Ken Hammond
Jun 13, 2024
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Ken Hammond, an expert on modern China, discusses the Deng Reform Period and its impact on modern China. The podcast explores Deng Xiaoping's political influence, phases of the Reform Period, utilizing market mechanisms for economic development within a socialist framework, Tiananmen Square protests, China's economic development, and reflections on China's future goals.
Chinese leadership embraced market mechanisms for economic growth while preserving socialist principles.
Agricultural reforms through household responsibility system boosted productivity with policy and structural changes.
Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 reflected societal contradictions, leading to violent crackdown and international repercussions.
Deep dives
The Path to Economic Development Through Market Mechanisms
The Chinese leadership in the 1980s embraced market mechanisms to drive innovation, creativity, and productivity in the economy. They utilized foreign direct investment, created special economic zones, and incentivized capital inputs from the outside. The focus was on developing the productive economy using the methods of the market while maintaining the socialist core of the economy. Policies were enacted to manage contradictions such as corruption, differential levels of development, and the need for price reform.
Agricultural Reform and Productivity Growth
In the agricultural sector, the household responsibility system was introduced to de-collectivize agricultural productivity. This system allowed individual households to enter contractual relationships to produce specified quantities of agricultural products, primarily focused on grain. The reforms led to increased agricultural production, with some fluctuations in productivity growth over time. The input-driven changes in agriculture were a combination of policies and organizational restructuring.
Emergence of Contradictions Leading to Tiananmen Square Protest
As the 1980s progressed, contradictions emerged in Chinese society, including issues of corruption, differential development outcomes, and anxiety among educated young urban professionals. These underlying conditions set the stage for the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, where students initially demonstrated in the square to express their concerns. However, the movement evolved with manipulated elements taking the lead, leading to misconstrued narratives of overthrowing the government and democracy demands.
June 4th, 1989 - Tiananmen Square Crackdown
The Tiananmen Square protests escalated into a violent confrontation on June 4th, 1989. After failed negotiations, the Chinese leadership decided to clear the streets, leading to the deployment of the People's Liberation Army. The situation turned into a violent uprising with clashes resulting in the deaths of hundreds, including both civilians and military personnel. The crackdown involved a complex interplay of protests, government responses, and clashes with severe casualties.
China's Post-Tiananmen Recovery
After the events of Tiananmen Square in 1989, China faced widespread international condemnation leading to economic downturns. Despite internal debates within the party leadership, Deng Xiaoping emerged as a proponent of reform, emphasizing the need to deepen and broaden economic reforms through his 1992 Southern tour. China, aiming to recover and reposition itself, navigated debates on whether to intensify market reforms or revert to a planned economy.
China's Path to Modernization and Socialist Development
China's shift towards the second phase of socialist development involved accommodating global capitalism while retaining a socialist core. By joining the WTO and focusing on economic growth, China saw significant improvements in living standards, including increased educational opportunities and healthcare access. The contrast in handling crises, like the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, showcased China's socialist system's resilience in prioritizing human life over profit, leading towards long-term goals of socialism and eventual communism.
In our final installment of our Modern China series, we conclude with this important, and inevitably controversial discussion of the Deng Reforms and the Reform Period! Very important that no matter your ideological tendencies, you come into this episode with an open mind, because there will be a lot of useful information for you regardless of how you analyze the Deng Reforms overall - this is meant primarily as a resource to allow you to deepen your personal understanding and analysis of this critical juncture in Chinese and world history. We definitely want to also thank Ken for spending over 6 hours with us on this mini-series, and we hope that you all get some use from it!
Ken Hammond is Professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University. He has been engaged in radical politics since his involvement in the anti-war movement at Kent State in 1968-70. Ken is also the author of the book China’s Revolution & the Quest for a Socialist Future.
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