6. What Happened To Chinese Communism: The Transition From State Feudalism To State Capitalism

This chapter deploys a post-structuralist version of Marxian theory, grounded in the definition of class process/structure as a particular way in which surplus labor is performed, appropriated, and distributed, to argue that the form of society that existed prior to Mao's death was state feudalist and the type of society that has emerged since Mao's death is state capitalist. It also argues that Chinese society appears to be moving in the direction of the prevalence of a corporate capitalism that can easily vacillate between state and private ownership. The victory of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its People's Liberation Army (PLA) over the forces of the Nationalist Party in 1949, enabled greater political than economic changes. The successes of Chinese state capitalism have created new contradictions, many with directly global implications. Keywords: Chinese state capitalism; Chinese state feudalism; Communist Party of China (CPC); Marxian theory