The idea of a ‘Chinese model’: A critical discussion

Abstract

This article questions the idea of a Chinese model. It argues that the so-called Chinese model is a variant of neoauthoritarian development associated with the developmental experience of other Eastern Asian states. What distinguishes China is the revolutionary experience – ignored by both Chinese and non-Chinese promoters of the Chinese model idea – that has left its mark on post-revolutionary development. Admiration for the authoritarian China model idea is voiced most audibly by those who place efficient development ahead of all other considerations, including democracy and social justice. These voices include apologists for the corporate neoliberal model that combines organizational authoritarianism with market ‘freedom’, as well as educational institutions that emulate corporate models, and serve as willing instruments of the Chinese regime’s search for ‘soft power’. Competing ‘models’ within China itself provide prima facie evidence of an unsettled search for sustainable development that reconciles the ideological goals of the regime with the realities of participation in a global capitalist economy. Indeed, if there is a ‘China model’, its most outstanding characteristic is the willingness to experiment with different models.