Chinese Economic Reform

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living standards. It had become clear to members of the CCP that economic reform would fulfill a political purpose as well since the party felt that it had suffered a loss of support. (Shirk 23)
This movement "from virtue to competence" seemed to mark a serious departure from orthodox Chinese political theory. Confucius himself had said that those individuals who best demonstrated what he referred to as moral force should lead the nation. Using this principle as a guide, China had for centuries attempted to choose its leaders by administering a test to determine their moral force. After the Communist takeover of the country, Mao continued this emphasis on moral force by demanding that Chinese citizens demonstrate what he referred to as "correct consciousness." This correct consciousness could be exhibited by the way people lived. Thus, by demonstrating their expertise in a more practical area of competence, the leaders of the CCP felt they could demonstrate how they were ...

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the central government retained the dominant power in economic resource allocation and local officials worked for the interest of the units under their control (Solinger 103). However, as time passed, some basic aspects of the old system were altered either by design or by the process of neglect. In 1985, further reforms were introduced. For example, long-term sales contracts between farmers and the government were established. In addition, in an effort to allow the market to determine prices, the prices of fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, and eggs, were freed from government controls so they could respond to market demand. Most importantly a surge of private and collective ...

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