Thursday, April 8, 2010
When capitalism and communism collide
The article follows the story of Cathy Huang, a student at Beijing University. She was born in an outer province of China to a police officer and a factory worker. She got the best score on her entrance exams and was accepted to Beijing. She wants to be an investment banker and has already worked for Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. She joined the communist party at the college. To join the party you must take an entrance exam so that it can "capture the best and the brightest, those with most initiative and executive capability. Its members are the pool from which the economic, military and political leaders of the country are drawn, so the advantage in making that reserve as deep as possible is clear. Party members are overwhelmingly urban and educated, largely from the upper-working or lower-middle classes - exactly the social strata that could pose the most threat if they were not given a strong stake in the current system." Cathy says that the "new" communist ideals have changed, they focus more on excellence, cooperation and patriotism rather than ideology. She explains that being a member is not a political choice but rather about contributing to China. The party recruits the students who have the top marks, which also makes you among the elite if you join. It is interesting to see the merger of capitalism and communism that is happening in China right now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
It is interesting to see how the economic factors have changed the Communist party in China, while it is still able to draw support from promising young people.
I think that it is interesting to see the young people joining also especially because they are among the most educated. I would think that they would see the positives of capitalism and the negatives of communism from an economics viewpoint. It makes me wonder about what the people joining this communist party, or even us in the U.S. are learning.
I think that it is interesting to see the young people joining also especially because they are among the most educated. I would think that they would see the positives of capitalism and the negatives of communism from an economics viewpoint. It makes me wonder about what the people joining this communist party, or even us in the U.S. are learning.
This article is interesting because, for me anyways, it brings up certain contradictions. It is a "Communist" party that draws from an elite group. It seems that if communism is a dictatorship of the proletariat than there should not be entrance exams to join the party. It favors the educated over the masses. It seems to be more communist in name than in practice. I understand however that in order for the Communist Party in China to maintain control there has to be a way of incorporating the economically powerful, which is what this party does. One thing this article certainly affirmed was the strength of the transition in the mindset of at least these Chinese people.
This is a great sign for China, one of the greatest ways to advance as a nation is to heavily invest in a strong education system and watch the technological and social progression of a nation push it to new heights. If China's best and brightest can continue to develop and innovate this could prove to stabilize China's place among the worlds ruling elite.
Post a Comment