[lbo-talk] China

Eric Beck ersatzdog at gmail.com
Mon Dec 27 09:40:04 PST 2010


On Sun, Dec 26, 2010 at 11:26 AM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> What is the point of this sort of exercise? China is a remarkable story of economic growth and the growth of an unusual form of capitalism, one with a still-heavy hand of the state.

I think part of Endnotes' point is that China lacks the internal dynamics that have typified other capitalist powers. (I think there's a sense in which Endnotes might be a bit nostalgic here in its using industrialization as the norm, but I'll leave that aside for now.)

And despite their being a bit wrong (or outdated) on the point of no real-wage gains, they do have a point: a large portion of the wage gains in the last few years have come from a state-financed wage premium in the state sector, while wages in private manufacturing and basic services have grown much more slowly, if at all. ("Advanced" service wages have grown much more, but it's a small sector and reflects China's incredible income and wealth stratification rather than any real trend toward a more immaterial economy.)

Since this wage premium way outstrips any real productivity or efficiency gains, two questions come to mind: how long can the state afford to finance this (spurious) increase in demand? and since the state is quickly shedding its ownership role (20 years ago it employed over 90% of the workforce; today the number is under 50%), how can it continue to increase wages as a whole? Given the unregulated way that private businesses operate in the country, it seems difficult.



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list