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mkaradjis wrote that China is "...a kind of state-directed capitalism, like Keynesianism, like fascism, like Nasserism/Peronism, like NICism etc. But a "state capitalist state" as some kind of new social formation? A tad unscientific I would think. "Really, what is the big resistance still to recognising China as a capitalist state?" Personally, I think it is a capitalist state, but it is not the same kind of capitalist state that Russia is, not the kind of capitalist state that the United States is, not the kind of a capitalist state that France is... China is a special kind of capitalist state very close to what Mexico was during the long reign of the PRI. Social revolutions in both countries, based on the peasantry and not the urban working class, led to transitional revolutionary dictatorships. The PRI dictatorship always saw itself as leading the capitalist development of Mexico, albeit it had a social democratic view of its capitalism. The Chinese Communist Party believed that it was leading a socialist country, but then pragmatically - and self-consciously - decided to follow the capitalist road. It has done so in a planned, thought out way led by the state and the Communist Party. This is almost the opposite of the collapse of planning that occurred when the Soviet Union collapsed. There is nothing unscientific about delineating different varieties of pigs and cows. Why would it be unscientific to delineate different varieties of capitalist political regimes? Chinese capitalism shows the absolute limits of capitalist development on this planet. Capitalism can no longer develop without being directed by the state. This is only a stop gap because China is not exempt from the laws of the world market and is likely to be at the center of the next great crisis. Anthony _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
