Maoist-Leninism and Capitalism in China

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the convergence of Maoist-Leninism and capitalism in contemporary China. It focuses on "ideology" as an element of change in China today in order to highlight the nature of the challenge facing a country. The paper looks at China's surging economy and geriatric political structure that is supported by a decayed ideology and suggests that there is a fundamental threat that is posed to the continuing stable development of China from these contradictory ideologies.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Problem Facing China
What is "Ideology"?
The Connection Between Capitalism and Democracy
An Unstable Marriage: Capitalism and Communism
An Uncertain Future

From the Paper:

"From this perspective, we can understand the fundamental threat that is posed to the continuing stable development of China from these contradictory ideologies. Capitalism seems to necessarily stimulate independent political thinking, which is highly repellant to the Communist Party which sought independent thinking only in terms of market management and technological innovation. The Communist Party thus bases its continuing monopoly on political power upon an ideology that no one in China truly believe in anymore. This co-existence of contradictory ideologies may continue for years to come, but obviously cannot be sustained in the long term. It is this fact that gives rise to the pessimism of many observers regarding the future of China."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dickerson, Mark O. and Flanagan, Tom. An Introduction to Politics and Government: A Conceptual Approach Fifth Edition. Toronto: International Thompson Publishing, 1998.
• Goodwin, Barbara. Using Political Ideas Fourth Edition. Chichester, Great Britain: John Wiley and Sons, 1987.
• Lynch, Daniel. "Dilemmas of Thought Work in Fin de Siecle China." The China Quarterly. 1999, pp.173-201. In Course Reader: State and Society in 20th Century China. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2007.
• Medeiros, Evan and Fravel, Taylor. "China's New Diplomacy." Foreign Affairs. Nov.-Dec. 2003. In Course Reader: State and Society in 20th Century China. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2007.
• Pei, Minxin. China's Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy. pp.1-43. In Course Reader: State and Society in 20th Century China. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2007.

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