Review: China and Socialism

China and Socialism: Market Reforms and Class Struggle by Martin Hart-Landsberg and Paul Burkett

While the Chinese government has done an excellent job in raising the country's GDP using protectionist techniques similar to the East Asian Tigers, this book delves into the cost of such economic growth. For instance, while wages have gone up (highly unevenly), health care that used to be provided for free (and so wouldn't be reflected in wages) is now very difficult to come by for the mass of Chinese. The heart of socialism - full provision of education, food, housing, medical care - has been eviscerated by Chinese leaders in Deng's mold who think that capitalist economists are the true scientists, and their advice can be relied upon to generate wealth. Wealth which one day may be more evenly redistributed, someday in the future. Someday in the future, of course, we will all be dead.