China’s post-Mao reforms

Abstract

The post-Mao reform era that began in 1978 represented a rupture in the political system that had defined the Maoist period, and it changed the patterns of social development dramatically. The state-centric model illustrates the continued influence of state institutions on ordinary citizens' lives during the reform era. The state-centric model refines the logic of China's economic transformations and suggests that the newly emerging private economy is still dependent on the state institutions. Many of the economic activities in China occurred outside of the national plan, which made fewer obstacles in the post-Mao economic reform. Some recent field observations on contemporary Chinese political culture suggest that there is evidence for the emergence of democratic values in China. In the sphere of political culture, state corporatism again demonstrates its effect by cultivating democratic values conducive to reforms while constructing the state legitimacy among the Chinese public.