China Will Surpass the US in Wealth: China’s Shift from Communism to Socialism
Every man-made system is inherently flawed simply because humans are flawed beings. However, we still continue to strive for ‘perfection.’ Reaching it is nearly impossible but pursuing perfection has significant societal benefits.
The most popular type of economy in modern society is the system of the market economy, essentially capitalism. In this system, people are free to innovate and have ownership of private resources (eg. land). The government does not determine any of society’s finances and decisions. This brews competition and firms have the incentive to improve because they do not want to be driven out of business. Despite the many pluses of market economies, there will always be downsides. For one, businesses often prioritize profits over people. Boeing, a widely known plane company, decided to save money by not training their pilots to adjust to the new and improved technology/software. This in turn caused hundreds of deaths. In addition, with capitalism, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer.
The main alternative to the market economy is the command economy, which would basically be a system such as communism. In this type of economy, everyone has ensured equality in where everyone is, for example, paid the same. Although once widely employed, this model is now highly unpopular. However, countries such as North Korea and Cuba still follow it. So, why did so many countries change their entire form of economy to a market economy like capitalism or some sort of a mix of the two — socialism?
Though in theory, it sounds ideal that people are equal by all means, this also means no matter what level of skill one person has or how hard they work, they will make the same amount of salary. A doctor and a sweeper would make the same amount of money. This discourages many people from getting an extensive education to work in careers such as law or medicine if they still make the same amount of money with the alternative. In addition, when the government picks out everything for everyone, there is a lack of competition amongst private businesses, since they do not exist, which eliminates the incentive and need to innovate which ultimately prevents a society from progressing.
China used to strictly follow communism, but over the years they’ve become socialist, aligning more with capitalism than socialism. With this shift, they’ve become the country with the second highest GDP in the world making them a huge power.
The shift can heavily be credited to Deng Xiaoping, who heavily implemented this switch. His mentality was not necessary to change China from one economy to another, but rather he preached that no matter what type of economy a change will follow, as long as it profits China, “just do it.”
Today, China is thriving as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and it would not be a shocker if (and when) they surpass America in regards to GDP (the output in dollars produced by a nation). Overall, studying China and its shift from communism to socialism allows us to see the contrast between unique economies and their benefits/downfalls.
