[heiss93]

I received this email from a researcher at the CPC's Institute of Marxism

So, if anyone can recommend any research papers or websites on the topic of either Marx on Asian Society or Marxist interpretations of the Beijing Model, I'd really appreciate it.

Dear Heiss
Thank you for return me a massage, but i haven't seen the address you told me, i'm in China and as a teacher and a researcher at a university, i'm very interesting in Marxism's theory of east sociat, for China is the socialist society that established on the undeveloping situation, and this topic is my main point of researching, so again ask the address you told me. And if you have and send me some resources about western researchers' on the same yard or on the "Beijing Model", it's out of words to express my thanks.
your's
Liu Jigao

You wrote- how can i get some papers of Marxism's theory of east sociat. Please contect the address below.

[gRed Britain]

In my opinion Marx's views on Asia were not very enlightened. They are heavily influenced by Orientalism and Eurocentricism whilst combined with plain ignorance of various Asian societies.

Marx on China which is a collection of articles he wrote on China for the New York Daily Tribune from 1853-1860 consitute pretty much all he wrote on China. In these he tends to stress the "stagnation" of China and its supposed inability to develop under its own power. He homogenises the Chinese as sharing inherent characteristics and then homogenises further by lumping the Chinese in with other "orientals" such as the Indians and Persians. Thus looking at his views on India and Persia in other works gives an indirect insight into his views on China. He ultimately argues that the Orient needs Western imperialism in order to jolt it into capitalist development as it is otherwise too stagnant and backward to be able to do it itself.

Needless to say this view is very outdated and should not be considered theoretically plausible.

[Fellow Comrade]

I think it's fair to say that modern China proves Marx wrong in this area. Not only did the Chinese throw off the shackles of Western imperialism only to begin an era of unprecedented development, but now they are using it against itself.

[Loz]

Quote:

Not only did the Chinese throw off the shackles of Western imperialism only to begin an era of unprecedented development...

Didn't the Chinese development rapidly accelerate only after they allowed Western capital to enter the country(and China ended up "entangling" itself with Western imperialism once again)?

[Potemkin]

Quote:

Didn't the Chinese development rapidly accelerate only after they allowed Western capital to enter the country(and China ended up "entangling" itself with Western imperialism once again)?

Indeed. And Marxism itself - the state ideology under which China has achieved its greatest social and economic development - is itself a Western ideology. Mao even specifically identified Confucianism (the traditional state ideology of China) as a reactionary ideology during the Cultural Revolution and attacked it, since he regarded it as having hindered China's development for two thousand years.

[Komissar_KW]

China's economic development began with the NEP-like policies during the 1980's, which helped start up Chinese enterprises and businesses. The influx of Western capital in the 1990's certainly helped carry things along, but they wouldn't have invested if they didn't see potential for China to exhibit economic growth to begin with. Had Western capital not entered the country, China would have still experienced economic growth, but perhaps not as fast (which might have been better, perhaps).

[Fellow Comrade]

Loz: The Chinese are of course letting Western capital re-enter the country, but as Komissar_KW said, this benefits development in China and within its borders, the West can only do what the CPC allows. That's a pretty clear sign China is any longer under the control of the Western imperialism.

[praxicoide]

heiss mentions not just Marxian, but Marxist analysis on China, I assume including up to their present situation. I would find it hard to believe Marxist conceptions are still anchored on Marx's particular views on the topic.

Also, The part on the precapitalist formations on the Grundrisse (published as a standalone work) and Marx's ethnological notebooks extend his views beyond the more positivist assumptions of his manifesto period. This has been the topic of much debate as well.