The primary stage of socialism (sometimes referred to as the preliminary stage of socialism),Properly Understand Theories Concerning Preliminary Stage of Socialism, by Wei Xinghua and Sang Baichuan. 1998. Journal of Renmin University of China, 1998, V(1): 7-13,126. introduced into official discourse by Mao Zedong as the initial stage of socialism, is a sub-theory of Chinese Marxist thought which explains why capitalist techniques are used in the Chinese economy. It maintains that China is in the first stage of building a communist society, in a stage where there is private ownership.
The concept was first into official discourse by Mao Zedong, who did not elaborate on the concept. Chinese economist Xue Muqiao first introduced the term "underdeveloped socialism" and wrote that within the socialist mode of production there were several phases and for China to reach an advanced form of socialism it had to focus on developing the productive forces. In 1979, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) theoretician Su Shaozhi, an official from the People's Daily, began a debate when introduced the term "undeveloped socialism" to refer to China; he posited that the main contradiction in Chinese society was between the "advanced social system" and the "backward production forces". Su's theory led to the development of the primary stage of socialism under CCP General Secretary Zhao Ziyang's stewardship. The theory was further developed under General Secretary Jiang Zemin.
Origins The concept of a primary stage of socialism was conceived before China started the period of reform and opening up. When discussing the necessity of commodity relations at the 1st Zhengzhou Conference held between 2 and 10 November 1958, Mao Zedongthe Chairman of the Chinese Communist Partysaid that China was in the "initial stage of socialism". Mao did not elaborate on the idea; his successors did.
Xue Muqiao's theory of the "immature socialist system" Xue Muqiao introduced the term "underdeveloped socialism" in his book China's Socialist Economy. The book was written in the orthodox Marxist–Leninist framework enunciated by Joseph Stalin in Economic Problems of Socialism in the U.S.S.R. (1952). Xue wrote that within the socialist mode of production there were several phases and for China to reach an advanced form of socialism it had to focus on developing the productive forces. He proposed a theory in which the basic laws of economic growth were those in which "the relations of production must conform to the level of the productive forces". Similarly to Stalin, Xue considered the productive forces to be primary and that this was a fundamental universal law of economics. Unlike Stalin, Xue believed there were principles that guided the socialist transition, the key one being the principle of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his work"; this principle would guide socialist development, even when China had reached advanced socialism, and would be replaced with "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" only when there existed general abundance. Xue based his arguments upon the economic policies pursued during the Cultural Revolution, which he believed had led to "the most severe setbacks and heaviest losses suffered by the Party, the state and the people since the founding of the People's Republic".
Xue believed the relations of production were determined by ownership in the economy. He said that since the productive forces in China were "backward", the relations of production were at a comparable level. While believing industry in China had become the "ownership of the whole people", Xue said agriculture was lagging far behind, which required ending the practice of paying wages based on collective efforts, supporting the re-introduction of individual incentives and increasing state investments in agriculture. Xue's suggestions were abandoned at the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee held in June 1981 because they failed to solve the problems facing agriculture. From the 6th Plenary Session onwards, the CCP led by Wan Li began supporting the de-collectivization of agriculture. At the beginning, Wan chose a conservative reformist approach, stating that: Prudence is necessary when approaching the reform of the commune institutions. We should not require each level to reform from top to bottom by prescribing a time limit for fulfilment. Until suitable new organizational forms can replace production brigades and teams, we should not recklessly change existing forms and bring about a disorderly situation.
Wan called for the dismantlement of the People's Commune system and its replacement with a household-responsibility system. He referred to the changes underway in the agricultural system as the creation of a new mode of production and called it the socialist commodity economy. CCP theorist Du Runsheng supported Wan's position, saying, "a principle of Marxism is that every change in the relations of ownership is an inevitable outcome of the development of new productive forces which can no longer fit in with the old relations of ownership". He also said: Today's household undertakings are very different in nature. Since land is owned by the public, they are restricted by the collective economy in many ways. They represent a level of management in the co-operative economy, and constitute an organic component part of the entire socialist economy... It is feared that the household contracting system will promote the conservative idea of private possession among the peasants. This fear is not without grounds. However, we must be able to see the other side of the matter, which also happens to be the prevailing aspect. Today's peasants are different from those of the past. They are now new-type labourers under the socialist co-operative system.
Su Shaozhi's theory of "undeveloped socialism" CCP theoretician Su Shaozhi, an official from the People's Daily, began a debate in 1979 at a CCP theory conference to re-examine Mao Zedong's assertion of "class struggle as the key link" when he introduced the term "undeveloped socialism" to refer to China. Su, co-writing with Feng Langrui, published an article in Economic Research () in 1979 which called into question the Chinese socialist project by using Marxist methodology. The article analyzed the basis of Chinese socialism by looking at the writings of Karl Marx. Marx drew a distinction between lower-stage communismcommonly referred to as the socialist mode of production and higher-phase communismoften referred to as communism. Su's and Feng's article created two subdivisions within the socialist mode of production; the first phase was the transition from the capitalist mode of production to the socialist mode of productionthe phase in which the proletariat seized power and set-up the dictatorship of the proletariat and in which undeveloped socialism was created. The second phase was advanced socialism; the socialism that Marx wrote about. They said China was an undeveloped socialist nation because:
The characteristics of undeveloped socialism are the two forms of public ownership, commodity production and commodity exchange. Capitalists have been basically eliminated as a class but there are still capitalist and bourgeois remnants, even feudal remnants. There also exist quite a few small producers, class differences among workers and peasants … and the force of habit of small-scale producers. The production forces are still not highly developed. And there is not an abundance of products … Therefore, the transition toward socialism has not yet been completed.
Su and Feng opposed the party line that the main contradiction in Chinese society was between the "advanced social system" and the "backward production forces". This line, originally conceived of at the 8th National Congress held in 1956 but removed by Mao and re-introduced after Mao's death, was intended to emphasize the importance of improving the economy. Su found it problematic because it meant that the superstructure could be more advanced than the level of the productive forcesa statement that was not in line with classical Marxism. Su countered, saying that China did not have a material base for a full transition to socialism. He said: The socialist system consists mainly of production relations. Whether a production relation is advanced or not is determined by just one criterion, namely, whether or not it can meet the demands of production forces and facilitate their development. Although some production relations, such as commune ownership, may be superior to ownership by the production team in terms of the stage of development, in rural China today, where manual labor remains predominant, only ownership by the production team, rather than by the commune, would be the type of production relations capable of measuring up to the level of production forces and facilitating their development. If ... commune ownership is adopted, it would damage the development of production forces.
The response to Su and Feng's article was mixed. Some responded positively and called for a retreat from socialist practices and a return to the policies of New Democracya period that lasted until 1956 when China had a mixed economy. More conservative elements tried to suppress it. Deng Liqun, the Deputy President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), used his powers to organize a meeting which criticized Su, who had become a member of the CASS Institute of Marxism–Leninism after writing the article. While Su garnered some support from high-standing officials, such as General Ye Jianying, the concept was the target of several crackdowns; the first occurred in 1981 during a crackdown on socialists supporting liberal democracy. A later crackdown was orchestrated by longstanding party theoretician Hu Qiamou and thirdly during the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign in 1983. The reasoning was that the idea lent weight for forces opposed to socialism in China and was therefore dangerous. Despite this, the 6th Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee sanctioned the idea that China was in the "primary stage of socialism", even if key theoreticians such as Wang Xiaoqiang dismissed Chinese socialism as "agrarian socialism", believing that socialism had been constructed on a feudal base.
Formulating the theory of a primary stage of socialism