Socialism Can Be Defined as a Form of Economic System - Essay Example

Introduction Socialism can be defined as a form of economic system in which the control and ownership of the means of production is cooperatively done. It is a system based on self management and social relations embedded in social organization of the systems. It is a system where the management of political and economic affairs is not based on hierarchy but rather on equal relations of power (Hans-Hermann, 2001). Economically, the production of goods and services is carried out in order to satisfy human needs and economic demands. Markets are the major channel through which goods and services are distributed. Income distribution is also based on different factors such as individual contribution or individual merit (Sassoon, 1998). The advent of the modern socialism can be traded back to the criticism that emerged in the 18th century regarding the effects of private property and industrialisation on the society. This criticism was raised by the political movement of the working and intellectual classes in the 18th century, some of whom, advocated for industrial planning and technocracy (Cole, 1965). Others advocated for the application of technology in order to eliminate anarchy and rationalise economic activities. In this regard, socialism is characterised by several elements that include direct allocation of the available resources to increase useful production, the use of markets for goods distribution, planned economy where the means of production are planned by the state but owned by the public, decentralized or self-managed economy based on independent self-regulating actors in the economy as well as decentralized decision-making and mechanism of allocation (Bertell, 1998). The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which socialism has been achieved in China which means that China is run by a modern government and not a revolutionary a revolutionary party. In doing this, the major point of focus will be on how the environment policy show the approach of the modern government or a revolutionary party. Background China’s extensive environmental degradation can be traded back to Maoist era which is given as the best example of extreme human interference in the natural world. Maoist era is a period that depicts the relationship between political repression and environmental degradation (Shagren, p.3). The dynamics of the environment during Maoist era demonstrates congruence between violence among human beings and violence by humans towards the non-human world. The utopian schemes introduced by Mao were destructive and thereby established the foundation for revolutionary excesses. Projects and campaigns affecting the environment during the Cultural Revolution were driven less by utopianism than by coercion and chaos. Earth transforming campaigns that were centrally launched such as Learn from Dazhai and In Agriculture were applied nationwide (Shagren, p.5). This was done without due regard to the natural climate and topography. The parable of feudalism and imperialism advanced by Mao exhorted the people to re-shape the physical world radically. The urban relocatees that were involuntarily resettled in the wilderness and other sparsely populated areas were encouraged and induced by the Maoist regime to carry out whatever reclamation activities that would suit their needs for improving their living conditions. This resulted into immeasurable environmental degradation (Shagren, p.7). However, the relocatees had little sense of connection or stewardship towards the environment because the environment (nature) was perceived as an enemy of mankind. Mao had little regard for the scientists that uttered words of citation towards environmental degradation and such scientists were persecuted to death or exiled in order to silence any effort to safe nature (Shagren, p.9). The adversarial stance by Mao against nature and the natural world is an extreme case of the modern perception of humans as fundamentally distinct and separate from nature which means that nature and human beings are at war and thus each side should fight to overcome the other. Maoist ideologies and revolutionary activities towards the natural world perceived nature as something external o be overcome or harnessed and not something to be taken care of and preserved. Hence, as mentioned earlier the causes of China’s extensive environmental degeneration and degradation can be traced back to the Maoist era which was majorly a revolutionary approach towards nature that resulted into destruction of the environment in the country. From the rise of Maoist China Communist Party in 1949 to the death of Mao in 1976 inestimable amounts of environmental destruction and degradation had occurred. The scientific socialism was outlawed in China and thus the examination of economic and social phenomena such as the assessment of the social and economic impacts of environmental degradation during the Maoist era was uncalled for. Rather utopianism was introduced and enhanced as the order of fighting the natural world in order for human beings to live in social conditions that were ideal to themselves (Shagren, p.11). It should be noted that revolutionary China’s environmental problem resulted primarily from over-extraction of resources, impoverishment of the land’s productivity through intensive farming schemes and drastic reshaping of the physical landscape, often beyond the ability of ecosystems to recover or adapt. Post Maoist era It is evident that China has adopted stringent measures to protect the environment as compared to the Maoist era where the environment was perceived as an enemy that needed to be depleted and destroyed rather than being conserved. This shows that environmental policy show the approach of a modern government in China (Bolt, Dasgupta, Pandey & Wheeler, 2001). Major strides have been made in prioritising environmental policies in equal measure to the priority given to economic development in the country. One of the ways through which the environment policy demonstrates the approach of a modern government rather than a revolutionary party is the integration of environmental policy in the Scientific Outlook on Development which serves as the strategic theory of China that guides the development in the country (Matsuno, 2009). A major step towards environmental policy was introduced in China in the 1990s when the incorporation of environmental policy into the growth strategy of the country was undertaken. The rise of President Hu Jintao I the 21st century has also seen a significant divergent from the Maoist ideologies about nature and the environment. Jintao’s administration has seen the decentralization of environmental policies from the state organs such as the State Environmental Protection Administration to other organs and ministries of the government and State Council (Haiqing, 1999). All these organs of the government are now required to participate and formulate jointly the policies that lean towards environmental protection and conservation in order to reduce the amount of environmental degradation and pollution as a result of expanding population and industrialisation activities (Chen and Yi, 2000). The implementation of environmental policies thus transcends from the central government to the state council and government ministries which shows that the modern government of China is prepared to undertake stringent environmental measures to protect the environment which is a great feature of socialism in China. Further, the 2004 “recycling-based economy” social concept and the 2005 “resource-saving society” concept are some of the new policies that have been introduced by the modern government in appreciation and integration of environmental policies in economic development (Shunsuke & Shinji, 2001). The modern government is also making considerable shift from the conventional means of environmental policies where the government controls most of the environmental policies to a legal, technical, economic and social framework from where environmental policies can be enhanced, formulated and implemented widely in the country through widespread administrative measures (Juli & Jennifer, 2007). The administrative measures of environmental policies that depict widespread socialism in China include the participation of the public as well as the public in protecting the environment where the citizens are required to monitor the activities of the producers and firms and report any elements of environmental degradation (Kai, 1996). The other administrative measure on environmental policy that depicts the extent of socialism in China is the voluntary action promotion in where companies are given the autonomy to implement their reforms that guide their production activities, introduction of adjusted costs of environmental degradation on the Gross Domestic Product (Green GDP) and requirements for building ecologically and environmentally friendly cities across the country (Kai, 1996). All these administrative measures demonstrate a departure from the revolutionary party to socialism where the state and the public are involved in the management of factors of production as well as natural resources. China’s modern environmental approach can therefore be summed and interpreted as giving equal priority to economic growth and protection of the environment and giving consideration to the environment before economic development is pursued (Jin, Yingyi & Barry, 2005). This has continued to necessitate the assessment of any negative impacts that may arise from setting up a firm in a particular geographical location in the country. From the above discussion it is evident that the environmental policy in China shows the approach of a modern government that is environmentally sensitive and majorly concerned with the protection of the natural world which is a great departure from the Maoist’s revolutionary regime whose main focus was environmental degradation and destruction as the pathway to achieving the intended human goals of development (Stuart, 1998). However, the implementation of environmental policies and legislations and regulations has faced numerous challenges as discussed in the subsequent net section. Challenges in the implementation of environmental legislations and policies in China One of the main challenges that China has faced in the implementation of environmental policies and legislations is lack of administrative measures to enforce the environmental legislations and policies (Juli & Jennifer, 2007). Until, 2000, the state government has been controlling environmental policies. This has been a major challenge in the implementation of environmental policies that affect industrialisation and economic development activities advanced by the government. However, the introduction of administrative measures through economic, legal, technical and social means will solve this challenge both in the short and in the long term. The second challenge has been the rapid expansion of population in China. Expansion and growth of population puts pressure on natural resources and increases the amount of environmental degradation and pollution (Juli & Jennifer, 2007). This has been a major challenge particularly the implementation of environmental policies that takes into consideration the plight of the increasing population and the need to conserve the environment. Additionally, the negative perception and the culture introduced during the Maoist era towards the environment and the natural world has been a major challenge. This is particularly the case among the rural people who continue to disregard the environment and carrying out farming activities that result into enormous environmental degradation (Juli & Jennifer, 2007). Continued environmental degradation may have far reaching consequences on the country’s economic growth and the pursuit for sustainability and harmonious society as discussed below. Consequences of environmental degradation in China Stemming from the Maoist era, environmental degradation in China has resulted into a reduction in the level of agricultural production which is a widespread phenomenon. Reduction in agricultural production will eventually lead to a drop in Gross Domestic product and the standards of living of the Chinese will also be affected (Juli & Jennifer, 2007). Rising number of poor people in the country will lead to civil war and thus the country’s pursuit of harmonious and stable society will be eroded. Secondly, the consequences of environmental degradation have already been witnessed through the widespread floods that have hit major parts of China. This has led to displacement of people and loss of factors of production in the process plunging people into poverty states. Floods in the country have been caused by widespread emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that have resulted into global warming (Juli & Jennifer, 2007). The destruction caused by floods directly impact on the country’s economic growth as the government diverts its resources from economic development activities such as infrastructure development to resettling and helping the millions of displaced people. In conclusion, it is evident that socialism has taken a centre stage in China as the modern government has shifted from retrogressive environmental policies to progressive environmental policies aimed at protecting the environment and the natural world. This has been achieved by increasing the participation of the government, the public and other stakeholders in formulating and implementing environmentally friendlily measures that help in the protection of the environment. This is a departure from the revolutionary party led by Moa which perceived the natural world and the environment as enemies of mankind. However, the major challenges faced by the modern government in implementing the environmental policies include expanding population, changing the mindset of the people from the Maoist’s ideologies towards the environment and lack of proper administrative structures to implement the policies. References Bertell, O. (1998). Market Socialism: The Debate among Socialists, Routledge Bolt, K., Dasgupta, S., Pandey, K., Wheeler, D. (2001). Cleaning the air in developing Countries. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, Washington DC. Chen, B. & Yi, F. (2000). Determinants of Economic Growth in China: Private Enterprise, Education, and Openness, China Economic Review 11(1), pp. 1-15. Cole, G. (1965). History of Socialist Thought, in 7 volumes, Macmillan and St. Martin's Press. Haiqing, X. (1999). Environmental Policy and Rural Industrial Development in China, (Montreal, Quebec). Hans-Hermann, H. (2001). A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism. New York, Sage Publishers. 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