Exploring the sinicization of Marx's social capital reproduction theory: review and reflection

Xian Zhang

doi:10.1108/cpe-11-2021-0015

Abstract

PurposeKarl Marx's social capital reproduction theory is his significant contribution to economics. The purpose of this paper is to review the contributions of the exploration of Chinese economists (especially Professor Liu Guoguang) in the concretization of Marx’s social capital reproduction theory combined with socialist construction since 1949.Design/methodology/approachDuring this process, Professor Liu Guoguang, a famous Chinese Marxist economist, has made an outstanding contribution by creating a Marxist social capital reproduction model with Chinese characteristics and a distinctive Marxist economic growth model. Professor Liu's exploration is still of crucial practical significance to building a socialist market economy today.FindingsThe process and achievements in the sinicization exploration of Marx's social capital reproduction theory were reviewed. With the reform and opening up, fundamental changes have occurred in China's economic system – the centralized planned economic system has been transformed into a socialist market economic system.Originality/valueThe planned management of the national economy is replaced by a macro-regulation system characterized by gross control gradually, and the concepts of agriculture, light industry, and heavy industry, and their intercorrelation are no longer applied in theory and policy. However, the sinicization exploration of Marx's social capital reproduction theory in the older generation of Marxist economists represented by Liu is not only of historical significance but also of important practical significance.

Highlights

Karl Marx’s social capital reproduction theory is his significant contribution to economics
As an integral part of Marxist economics, the social capital reproduction theory is Marx’s great contribution to economics, which has revealed the objective conditions to be observed for the regular progress of capitalist reproduction
If categories that represent capitalist economic relations, such as C, V, and W, [1] are transformed into socialist ones, the principles revealed by Marx’s social capital reproduction theory apply to the socialist economy; as Lenin (1990, p. 275) has stated, the relationship and accumulation of Iv þ m and IIc exist in pure communism

Summary

Paper type Translated paper

As an integral part of Marxist economics, the social capital reproduction theory is Marx’s great contribution to economics, which has revealed the objective conditions to be observed for the regular progress of capitalist reproduction. Centered on this restrictive relationship, Liu conducted in-depth research using mathematical methods based on the basic principles of Marxist economics, in which he analyzed the mutual restrictions among agriculture, light industry, and heavy industry under the condition of accumulation, as well as the internal connection between these three sectors and two major departments He explored profoundly the determinants for socialist reproduction growth rate, the quantitative relationship between reproduction percentage and speed, and in particular, the demand of accumulation for means of consumption and the restriction of the production of means of consumption on accumulation, forming a systematic Marxist total social reproduction theory with Chinese characteristics, which was an important achievement in the sinicization of Marx’s social capital reproduction theory and an outstanding contribution to developing the social capital reproduction theory of Marxist political economy Liu summarized the following formula for the net growth rate of total social products: tP

Then the above formula can be written as tP α β

Findings

YnðtÞ þ ΔCII ðt