Labour and the failure of reform in China

Description:

After initial success in the 1980s, political, economic and social reforms in China have run into an all-encompassing crisis. This crisis is not typically Chinese or communist. It is evident in all post-communist societies. There is no real difference in viewing present-day China as either one of the last communist societies or as one of the first post-communist societies. To understand the nature of the crisis one must go beyond the simple definitions of human rights and free enterprise. The author demonstrates that the problem-ridden dismantling of a state socialist labour system is at the core of these current issues. The view that resistance to change under communism could be explained by the existence of a strong party-state seems increasingly irrelevant since that resistance is also present where the strong party-state has ceased to exist. The concepts of democracy ad the separation of power have one meaning in developed states and a different significance in post-communist states. Dr Korzec shows that much more is involved in the issues of enterprise independence and privatization than mere abdication of state control and the transfer of property rights.

subjects: Labor,  Labor policy,  Wages,  Foreign relations,  Great britain, foreign relations, china,  China, foreign relations, great britain,  Labor, china,  Wages, china

Places: China