Midterm Review Government and Politics of China Prof. Susan Whiting Autumn 2012

What have you learned?  Ideologies  Institutions  Individuals  Relate to China’s specific experience

Ideologies  Confucianism  Liberalism  Nationalism  Marxism  Leninism  Maoism

Ideologies  Confucianism Main tenets Did intellectuals at the beginning of the 20th C regard Confucianism as capable of addressing China’s domestic and international challenges?  What were the domestic and international challenges? How did the CCP relate to Confucianism in the early 20th C? How does the CCP relate to Confucianism in the present?

Ideologies  Liberalism Individual-rights centered What discredited liberalism for politically active Chinese in the early 20th C?

Ideologies  Nationalism Definition Nationalism is an important thread throughout 20 th and 21st C China.  How did nationalism appear in the KMT platform?  What was the role of nationalism in the CCP revolution, according to Bianco?  How did the CCP appeal to nationalism in the Great Leap Forward under Mao Zedong?  Can Deng Xiaoping’s goals in the reform era be characterized as nationalist?

Ideologies  Marxism Main tenets How did orthodox Marxists few the CCP pursuit of immediate revolutionary and state-building goals?  Leninism Main tenets

Ideologies  Maoism Main tenets In what ways does Mao’s thought show the influence of Confucianism? In what ways was Maoism reflected in the policies of the  Great Leap Forward?  Cultural Revolution?

Institutions  Leninist party  Planned economy  Work unit (danwei)  Commune  How did each of these institutions work?

Institutions  Leninist party Definition What is democratic centralism? How did the party use movements/campaigns to recruit activists? How did the party use campaigns to control its own agents? What was the role of the party in the 1949 Revolution?  Strategy—build winning coalition

Institutions  Leninist party How did the party handle policy debates?  What is a specific example of a debate over economic policy? How was it handled How did the party handle leadership transitions?  ?

Institutions  Leninist party How did Mao violate Leninist norms in  Great Leap Forward (Lushan Plenum)?  Cultural Revolution? One of Deng Xiaoping’s major actions as pre-eminent leader was to re- establish party discipline.

Institutions  Planned economy Defining characteristics How did the planned economy serve Mao’s/China’s geo-political goals?  “Catch-up” development strategy How did China make the transition from planned economy to market economy? What legacies of the planned economy are reflected in Huang’s notion of “economic statism”?

Institutions  Work unit (danwei) How did the work unit fit in the planned economy? What were the political functions of the work unit? How did mass participation in the political process take place through the work unit?

Institutions  Commune How did the commune system reflect Maoist ideals? What were some specific positive aspects of commune organization for social welfare/development? What were some specific negative aspects of commune organization for economic growth/development? What reform policies addressed the weaknesses of the commune system in agriculture?

Individuals  “micro-foundations” Analysis of individual behavior  Individuals are goal-oriented  Individual behavior is shaped by Incentives Constraints Perry  Ordinary peasants, workers Seek strategies of survival/advancement  Not “ideologues”; not “true believers” Constrained by economic-political context

Exam Format  Closed-book  Bring a blue book Do not write your name in it.  Part A:Multiple Choice & Short Answer 40 percent  Part B:Essay 60 percent

Multiple choice Which of the following correctly characterize China’s planned economy? The Chinese approach to a planned economy was an extreme version of import-substituting industrialization. The State Planning Commission set prices to equate supply and demand. The goal of China’s planned economy was rapid industrialization for national defense. Planners acquired new investment funds for expansion of industry in part through their monopoly ownership of industry. a, c, and d only. All of the above.

Short answer  Nobel-Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has made the point that famines are “man-made.” Briefly discuss this claim in the context of China’s Great Leap Forward.

Essay question  Define legitimacy. To the extent that Mao’s regime was legitimate in the eyes of Chinese citizens, identify and briefly discuss two sources of regime legitimacy.