A New Socioeconomic Formation?

Abstract

This article seeks to provide a more comprehensive philosophical framework for the proposed model of a “new projectment economy” in China. Developed by a research team of political economists and social scientists, the “new projectment economy” offers an innovative theoretical framework in an attempt to interpret facts on the ground in China. However, what is needed is more extensive philosophical analysis of what is at stake. Thus, the article has two main sections. The first provides a critical overview of the move from the “old projectment” as initially proposed by the Brazilian economist Ignacio Rangel, as well the key points of the “new projectment” in relation to China. The second main section turns to connect the proposal of the research team with Chinese Marxist philosophical analysis, in terms of the development of contradiction analysis, a reconstruction of China’s economic history since 1949, and a proposed dialectical transformation (Aufhebung) of both plan and market in the new era. Further engagement by the “projectment” research team with Chinese scholars and policy-makers should be the next step, for this would lead to mutual enrichment through complementarity and difference.