Reflections on the Impact upon China's Polity from the Retreat of State Capitalism

Abstract

This article examines China's political economy since the 1949 revolution from a state capitalist perspective. The theoretical appeal of this perspective lies in how intense, military competition and concomitant development of the heavy industrial sectors dictated the path taken by the whole political economy. The article examines the gradual retreat of state control over the economy and the adoption of a `dual track' approach. It analyses the factors that have led the Chinese economy to achieve an unprecedented growth rate, arguing that the retreat of state capitalism has resulted in the reconfiguration of classes which will have inevitable and significant political ramifications.