An answer from Marxist economics to Weber's hypothesis about China: a concurrent discussion of the direction of rural reform in China

Jiguo Yang

doi:10.1108/cpe-06-2020-0012

Abstract

PurposeWeber's hypothesis about China is the hypothesis forwarded by Weber that why capitalist production did not appear in eastern countries such as China in the first place. Weber considered that the reason may be Chinese Confucianism and Taoism lack protestant ethic like Western countries.Design/methodology/approachThe clarification has aroused wide discussion, meanwhile, East Asian capitalism belonging to the Chinese cultural circle has successfully refuted Weber's proposition. Chinese scholars have a broad debate around this topic while no agreement has been reached. This paper tries to explain Weber's hypothesis by Marx's theory of capital origin, which can be explained that the landlord economy caused by China's federal society under centralism leads to the result that the commodity of labor cannot exist in that environment.FindingsThe answer from Marxist economics has not only solved an enormous theoretical problem, but also it has vital practical significance. It easily clarifies the fact that the commodity of labor in full sense still cannot emerge in China nowadays, which is an important reason causing China to enter the New Normal and New Era.Originality/valueTherefore, it leaves China the only way of the socialist road with Chinese characteristics and revitalizing China's rural economy, which means China can only promote rural industrialization and urbanization under the principle of adhering to rural collective ownership, while implementing various forms of integrated agricultural and industrial business models based on local conditions.

Highlights

Weber’s hypothesis about China is one of the two questions from Weber’s hypothesis, which are: (1) why was capitalist production first established in Western countries? (2) why capitalist production did not appear in eastern countries such as China in the first place? German socialist Weber (Max Weber, 1864–1920) answered the first question in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism that protestant ethics accelerated the birth of capitalist spirit, thereby promoted the development of capitalism in Western countries
Weber gave an answer to the second question in another book Religionen in China: Konfuzianismus and Taoismus that the reason why capitalist production did not appear in China at the earliest maybe Chinese Confucianism and Taoism lack protestant ethics as
3.2 An answer from Das Kapital to Weber’s hypothesis about China The origin of the capitalism in Das Kapital shows that the birth of capital is the logical starting point of capitalism, and the birth of capital requires two conditions: first, labor being converted into a commodity, and the emergence of the wage–labor system or the formation of Direction of the labor market; second, the volume of money that is yet to be “hatched” into capital should reach a certain number, that is to say, the “commercial capital” in precapitalism should be accumulated to a certain amount to be “hatched” into “industrial capital.”

Summary

Introduction

Weber’s hypothesis about China is one of the two questions from Weber’s hypothesis, which are: (1) why was capitalist production first established in Western countries? (2) why capitalist production did not appear in eastern countries such as China in the first place? German socialist Weber (Max Weber, 1864–1920) answered the first question in his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism that protestant ethics accelerated the birth of capitalist spirit, thereby promoted the development of capitalism in Western countries.

Results

Conclusion