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Saturday 21 March 2009
Leftists make comeback, blaming crisis on free-market liberalism
After years living in the political wilderness, mainland leftists - an umbrella term that spans free-market critics to veterans nostalgic for bygone Maoist days - are making a quiet comeback.
Leftists make comeback, blaming crisis on free-market liberalism
Zhuang Pinghui and Ivan Zhai 17 March 2009
After years living in the political wilderness, mainland leftists - an umbrella term that spans free-market critics to veterans nostalgic for bygone Maoist days - are making a quiet comeback.
From internet forums to corner bookshops, academic discussion groups to retirees’ social clubs, leftist ideas are attracting a following thanks to the unfolding global financial crisis that has undermined confidence in free-market liberalism.
Beijing, of course, will not be making political U-turns any time soon. For the most part, it has stuck to a middle-of-the-road approach and has little interest in stirring up the ideology debate. And the average person is more interested in job security than muddy political discussion.
But strong signs exist that leftist thought is gaining in popularity. The economic crisis gives its advocates the sort of opening they have been seeking for years.
At the leftist online forum wuyouzhixiang, or utopia, most recent postings are focused on the economic crisis. Many writers blame the situation on unbridled capitalism and the failure of free-market policies. The site, which in the past only attracted the Maoist old guard or radical scholars, is a popular stop on the Web, with many people in their 20s and 30s posting comments.
Zhou Ruijin, a liberal scholar who played a role in the mainland’s open-door policies, questioned the basis for some of the opinions.
“Yes, I have heard lots of such criticism recently. I think the people who attribute the global financial crisis to the failure of the free-market system are totally wrong because they misunderstand the crisis,” said Mr. Zhou, a former deputy chief editor of the People’s Daily.
“I believe that the debate about the role of the market and government will go on for a while. And as long as the economic crisis does not stop, people will continue the criticisms. I hope people in economic circles can help the public understand what the real ‘market’ and what the real cause of the crisis are.”
Mr. Zhou defended the market economy and said its principles were sound and should not be blamed.
“The US government is nationalising AIG and Citibank,” he said, referring to moves by the Obama administration of buying equity in the troubled giants. “But nationalisation is not socialism. It is just a temporary solution that can steady the market. The base of the [market] system has not changed.
“The failure, caused by a lack of proper supervision, does not mean the free-market system as a whole has failed. It is totally wrong when people think that ‘planned economy is better than market economy’, or ‘socialism is saving capitalism’.”
But the fact that such liberal scholars have had to come out to defend the market economy speaks volumes about the backlash against the prevailing economic policies.
The leftists say pro-reform economists often exaggerate the role of the market in economic reforms and ignore the debate on the importance of public or private ownership.
“Since 1984, our government and party have adopted the west’s free-market language when formulating policies,” writes Yang Chengxun, a leftist scholar.
“The economic crisis triggered by the US subprime credit crunch has now plunged the world into turmoil. It has proven the bankruptcy of neo-liberalism and the fundamental flaws in [the] western economic mode. But some of our economists are still trying to defend it.”
Another issue fiercely attacked by the camp are the so-called universal values - a concept often associated with the western argument that human rights, democracy and freedom of speech are fundamental to all societies. Premier Wen Jiabao has often used the term in several of his recent speeches overseas.
But for many neo-socialist scholars, each idea is a “trojan horse” under which “dangerous western ideology” is smuggled into China.
During the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province last year, the camp attacked the outspoken Southern Weekend after it published an editorial praising the Communist Party and the government’s economic rescue efforts as emblematic of such a “universal value”.
Yet even before the world’s economies started to nosedive, leftist ideas were gaining in popularity, against the backdrop of millions of people being left behind in the mainland’s rapid but uneven economic transformation.
And the conservatives in recent years have gone further than the economy. They moved to consolidate their base two years ago when they railed against Ang Lee’s award-winning drama Lust, Caution. Although the film was applauded by critics and audiences, the leftists gathered twice in a month at utopia to denounce the movie for glorifying traitors, and called for a boycott. They argued Lee’s film was full of political metaphors and should be rated a “Chinese traitor movie”.
The discussions attracted media coverage and led to the ban on Tang Wei, the actress playing the character who abandoned her mission to assassinate a Japanese collaborator after they began a relationship.
Political scientist Hu Xingdou said the leftists’ increasing popularity was not solely found among the elders with personal experience of Mao’s rule, but also among mainlanders who have felt the backlash of economic reform. The less privileged in society, frustrated by official and corporate corruption and an unfair distribution of wealth could find themselves nostalgic for the days when everybody seemed equal.
“There were some blunders during the reform process and that enabled the speedy rise of the leftists,” Professor Hu said. “Liberal or leftists - we have both seen the problems after years of reform, but liberals believe the situation will improve after further reform, while the leftists call for a move back to the Mao era. That’s the fundamental difference.”
Professor Hu has come under attack from extreme leftists since he accused them of trying to create a Mao cult. He said these conservatives often made written attacks on people who held different views. Even though they were frustrated that the administration was siding with the pro-reform camp, they offered nothing in the way of concrete or practical alternatives, he said.
“As far as I can see, it’s the liberals and the rights lawyers who are trying to safeguard the rights of farmers and migrant workers. The leftists do nothing but talk.”
1 comment:
Leftists make comeback, blaming crisis on free-market liberalism
Zhuang Pinghui and Ivan Zhai
17 March 2009
After years living in the political wilderness, mainland leftists - an umbrella term that spans free-market critics to veterans nostalgic for bygone Maoist days - are making a quiet comeback.
From internet forums to corner bookshops, academic discussion groups to retirees’ social clubs, leftist ideas are attracting a following thanks to the unfolding global financial crisis that has undermined confidence in free-market liberalism.
Beijing, of course, will not be making political U-turns any time soon. For the most part, it has stuck to a middle-of-the-road approach and has little interest in stirring up the ideology debate. And the average person is more interested in job security than muddy political discussion.
But strong signs exist that leftist thought is gaining in popularity. The economic crisis gives its advocates the sort of opening they have been seeking for years.
At the leftist online forum wuyouzhixiang, or utopia, most recent postings are focused on the economic crisis. Many writers blame the situation on unbridled capitalism and the failure of free-market policies. The site, which in the past only attracted the Maoist old guard or radical scholars, is a popular stop on the Web, with many people in their 20s and 30s posting comments.
Zhou Ruijin, a liberal scholar who played a role in the mainland’s open-door policies, questioned the basis for some of the opinions.
“Yes, I have heard lots of such criticism recently. I think the people who attribute the global financial crisis to the failure of the free-market system are totally wrong because they misunderstand the crisis,” said Mr. Zhou, a former deputy chief editor of the People’s Daily.
“I believe that the debate about the role of the market and government will go on for a while. And as long as the economic crisis does not stop, people will continue the criticisms. I hope people in economic circles can help the public understand what the real ‘market’ and what the real cause of the crisis are.”
Mr. Zhou defended the market economy and said its principles were sound and should not be blamed.
“The US government is nationalising AIG and Citibank,” he said, referring to moves by the Obama administration of buying equity in the troubled giants. “But nationalisation is not socialism. It is just a temporary solution that can steady the market. The base of the [market] system has not changed.
“The failure, caused by a lack of proper supervision, does not mean the free-market system as a whole has failed. It is totally wrong when people think that ‘planned economy is better than market economy’, or ‘socialism is saving capitalism’.”
But the fact that such liberal scholars have had to come out to defend the market economy speaks volumes about the backlash against the prevailing economic policies.
The leftists say pro-reform economists often exaggerate the role of the market in economic reforms and ignore the debate on the importance of public or private ownership.
“Since 1984, our government and party have adopted the west’s free-market language when formulating policies,” writes Yang Chengxun, a leftist scholar.
“The economic crisis triggered by the US subprime credit crunch has now plunged the world into turmoil. It has proven the bankruptcy of neo-liberalism and the fundamental flaws in [the] western economic mode. But some of our economists are still trying to defend it.”
Another issue fiercely attacked by the camp are the so-called universal values - a concept often associated with the western argument that human rights, democracy and freedom of speech are fundamental to all societies. Premier Wen Jiabao has often used the term in several of his recent speeches overseas.
But for many neo-socialist scholars, each idea is a “trojan horse” under which “dangerous western ideology” is smuggled into China.
During the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province last year, the camp attacked the outspoken Southern Weekend after it published an editorial praising the Communist Party and the government’s economic rescue efforts as emblematic of such a “universal value”.
Yet even before the world’s economies started to nosedive, leftist ideas were gaining in popularity, against the backdrop of millions of people being left behind in the mainland’s rapid but uneven economic transformation.
And the conservatives in recent years have gone further than the economy. They moved to consolidate their base two years ago when they railed against Ang Lee’s award-winning drama Lust, Caution. Although the film was applauded by critics and audiences, the leftists gathered twice in a month at utopia to denounce the movie for glorifying traitors, and called for a boycott. They argued Lee’s film was full of political metaphors and should be rated a “Chinese traitor movie”.
The discussions attracted media coverage and led to the ban on Tang Wei, the actress playing the character who abandoned her mission to assassinate a Japanese collaborator after they began a relationship.
Political scientist Hu Xingdou said the leftists’ increasing popularity was not solely found among the elders with personal experience of Mao’s rule, but also among mainlanders who have felt the backlash of economic reform. The less privileged in society, frustrated by official and corporate corruption and an unfair distribution of wealth could find themselves nostalgic for the days when everybody seemed equal.
“There were some blunders during the reform process and that enabled the speedy rise of the leftists,” Professor Hu said. “Liberal or leftists - we have both seen the problems after years of reform, but liberals believe the situation will improve after further reform, while the leftists call for a move back to the Mao era. That’s the fundamental difference.”
Professor Hu has come under attack from extreme leftists since he accused them of trying to create a Mao cult. He said these conservatives often made written attacks on people who held different views. Even though they were frustrated that the administration was siding with the pro-reform camp, they offered nothing in the way of concrete or practical alternatives, he said.
“As far as I can see, it’s the liberals and the rights lawyers who are trying to safeguard the rights of farmers and migrant workers. The leftists do nothing but talk.”
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