POLB91H3 Study Guide - Final Guide: Zhao Ziyang, Big Bang, Washington Consensus
1
[Naughton] In a nutshell, describe the economic reform in China. What was the economy
transitioning from and to?
Transitioned from a command economy to a market economy.
[Naughton] How was China’s development trajectory different from other countries such as
Russia?
The economic reform was without a 'big bang' like in Russia, where their economic institutions
were transformed overnight.
China on the other hand was more practical in their approachl gradually fixing and tweaking
policies as they went.
Their goal was to satisfy the needs of the people, not immitate wester-style economy. [Lecture]
Is China’s development model exportable to other countries?
Noughton says that Nah, it cant. Because a) the sheer size of China, b) its a land of cheap labour,
able to stimulate large economic groups such as migrant workers, and c) China was able to
accomplish most of this due to being an authoratarian economic system, for instance they were
able to close the stock market for a day because it was dipping.
WEEK 9
Explain what it means to “see like a state” and its implications for failed development
state led development success and failure of
• Contrast china’s successful case of state-led development with jame scott’s analysis of
failed cases of state led development
• They failed bc It seemed like a state. The pitfall of seemed like a state. State implements
in a top down perspective and doesn’t use local efforts, making it too simple and causing
havoc to ppl
• He asks why schemes to improve the human condition gone terribly awry?
o Bc of seeing like a state
Seeing like a state
• Means top down vision of development: state led social engineering
• With high modernist ideologies which blinds them from social realities
• False perception that “scientific knowledge” is more useful for improving the human
condition than local practical knowledge
Recipe for disaster and failed development
1. Administrative ordering of nature and society
a. State tries to order and categorise society thru things like forcing citizens to adopt
last names, dictating language they should use, creating categories like urban
forestry + who has the land
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2
2. High modernist ideology: planned social order and using rational/ scientific thought to
dictate policy
a. Projects such has huge dams – china dam. It provided electricity but killed
ecosystem and displaced so many citizens (they had to move)
b. High modernist planning
3. Authoritarian states
a. Only authoritarian states can carry massive social projects with an uncoordinated
manner
i. U don’t have a say it in. local ppl don’t have a say and get to decide
4. Prostrate civil society
a. Weak civil society that can’t organise a resistance against high modernised
projects and states
b. No checks on gov
c. No local knowledge
When development succeeds – china
• Washington consensus vs Beijing consensus
o Washington = late 1980s promoting econoimic success with neoliberal
o Bejing = capatilist system with gov late 1990s and 2000s
o Chinese approach vs the eastern European big bang approach
▪ China = adopted the 2 track approach which is idea that u move the
economy from a planned to a free economy. Led to 10 yrs of
economic chaos and corruption
o Two staged Chinese reforms
Reform without losers 1978-1992
→ Reform with losers 1993- present
OUTCOME
• Chinese government was able to liberalise the economoy without
liberalizing the government through the step by step state led intro of
capitalism/market econ with state interference of authoritaian state
• Only country to achieve UN Development goal of pulling people out of
poverty/ above the state of poverty
o Major political goal: “good life” as apart of the Chinese dream
o Political culture: social rights over democratic rights→ strong state
coorsive power to control rebel/movements
▪ The wellness collective is more important
▪ Reject western democratic rights
Economic Reforming Features
When: 1978- present
Why:
• there was a crisis in rural agriculture→ lack of incentive to meet/exceed growth quotas
(undervelopment)
Where
• From rural to urban China
• Farmers were forced into collectiveness→ slacker farmers still benefitting, → shared all
rice fields (free ridings), → no pay off for growing beyond quota
• Farmer communes were dismantled under the market economy shift
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3
o Decollectivized land
o The gov had set the production requirement way too high (grain gap)
• 4 decades after reform the Chinese government controlled:
o Banking, healthcare, telecommunications, stocks, electricity
o *telecommunications posed security issues→ monitored and controlled by gov →
legibility
Brief Overview of Life under command Economy
• State involvement/ addministration/ control of
o marriages→ a political institution
o Work units→ assigned employment based on major of study, housing,
childrens schools
o Provied stable but fixed life with little to no flexibility
o Free dating introduced with econ reform→ command had arranged
o Before reform stores had every item behind counter
▪ Post reform→ people could break from work unit→ creating “mom
and pop” store with no price control
▪ Cellphones introduced → telecommunications
Reform without Big Bang
• Big bang is an European approach intro to free markets overnight
o Free prices, top to bottom→ restructured instituions
• Chinese approach is piecemeal→ fixing&teaking policies as they proceed gradually
o Goal: satisify the needs of people by experimenting with different methods
2 Stages of Reform ( with no losers, and with losers)
Stage 1→ leader: Zhao Ziyang “reform without losers”
• Goal: introduce key market elements into planned economy → duel track system of
market and commnd
• The planned economy exsists with market elements
• outcome→ gradually growing out of planned economy→ fewer losers = manufacturing
workers more employent opp
When development fails
• Legibility
• Simplification – ( restructuring public space, 5 characteristics)
• Neocolonialism
o Chinese aid
o Mao period = gaining allies in midst of cold war. Alliance collapsed when
china left soviet union
o Theyre neutral. Not with usa, not with soviet. Wanted more to join their
movement
o Good will and putting a mark in Africa
o Better for Chinese companies
• Grassroots militancy
Post development
• Problems with local gov
o When ppl go into countries to foster development they first go to gov but its
actually gov there that’s not involved in society. Corrupt powers in gov and don’t
always look out for the best for the ppl. So going thru gov can be a negative thing
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
[naughton] in a nutshell, describe the economic reform in china. Transitioned from a command economy to a market economy. [naughton] how was china"s development trajectory different from other countries such as. The economic reform was without a "big bang" like in russia, where their economic institutions were transformed overnight. China on the other hand was more practical in their approachl gradually fixing and tweaking policies as they went. Their goal was to satisfy the needs of the people, not immitate wester-style economy. 1: high modernist ideology: planned social order and using rational/ scientific thought to dictate policy, projects such has huge dams china dam. Led to 10 yrs of economic chaos and corruption: two staged chinese reforms. 2: decollectivized land, the gov had set the production requirement way too high (grain gap, 4 decades after reform the chinese government controlled, banking, healthcare, telecommunications, stocks, electricity. *telecommunications posed security issues monitored and controlled by gov legibility.
