To ensure we’re all on the same page, let’s first agree on a practical (and not philosophical) definition for the word “communism.” Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines communism as “1: a theory advocating elimination of private property” and “2: a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.”
Wikipedia defines communism as “a social structure in which classes are abolished and property is commonly controlled, as well as a political philosophy and social movement that advocates and aims to create such a society.”
The word “communist” is an adjective used to describe a country that has a communist social or political structure. “Communist” is also used to describe a person who advocates communism.
Karl Marx said communism is defined as the “abolition of private property.” Perhaps his most famous quote on the subject is “from each, according to his ability; to each, according to his needs.
Note that Marx views communism as a liberating, equalizing movement, and not an oppressive system which enslaves the masses under central rule. Communists describe their world being run by the “dictatorship of the proletariat,” which does not necessarily mean an authoritarian power structure. Those who criticize China, Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea or the former U.S.S.R as communist police states incorrectly equate communism with authoritarianism.
Rather than judge China (i.e. the People’s Republic of China) on what it claims to be or wishes one day to realize, let’s follow the lead of modern China’s leaders by being pragmatic and judging China based on its current reality.
Based on the definitions above, can today’s China be described as a communist country? Let’s analyze this question in terms of modern China’s social structure, political ideology, and economic reality.
Social Structure
Have classes been abolished in China? No. Is the Chinese worker at the vanguard of Chinese society? Does the Chinese worker own and drive the Chinese nation? On paper and in ideology, yes, but in reality, no.
Arguments could be made that the ruling Chinese Communist Party represents and advocates on behalf of the Chinese worker, but in reality, since 1979 the Chinese Communist Party has led the country in pursuing an economic liberalization policy that has put consumers (either domestic or international) and capitalists (either state-backed or independent) above workers in the social order.
Political Ideology
The Communist Party of China advocates “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” An official Party brief states “the basic line of the Communist Party of China at the primary stage of socialism is to lead the people of all ethnic groups in a concerted, self-reliant and pioneering effort to turn China into a prosperous, strong, democratic and culturally advanced modern socialist country by making economic development our central task while adhering to the Four Cardinal Principles and persevering in the reform and opening up.
While China now describes itself as socialist, it also follows Lenin’s view that socialism as a transitional stage between capitalism and communism. The Chinese case is unique, however, as China has not yet gone through a capitalist stage. China lived under a feudalist system for thousands of years, and at the same time endured colonial oppression from western powers (including Britain, Portugal, France, and the United States) for a few hundred years. Mao’s China experimented with some communist ideas, but never realized communism.
China’s leaders claim “socialism with market characteristics” is a necessary stage in the transition to communism, and so Party supporters explain that China must undergo a market-based economic era before realizing communism.
Economic Reality
Explanations and goals aside, China has not realized communism, and is a present a mixed-market socialist economy. While in theory the state still technically owns all land, private property protections have been passed into Chinese law.
Laws further adding protections to human rights, intellectual property rights, and private property rights move in the opposite direction of the goal of the abolition of private property.
Summary
In common political dialogue or everyday conversation, people who use the phrases “Communist China” or “China is a communist country” aren’t challenged to specifically define whether they are referring to China’s social structure, political structure, economic system, or historical guiding ideology.
While ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, China is in reality a socialist, mixed-market nation with more capitalist elements than many western nations. The argument could be made that China is an authoritarian state, but authoritarianism and communism are not synonymous, and one does not necessarily lead to or depend upon the other.
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Sources: Chinese Communist Party Constitution, Chinese Communist Party Brief, BBC, Wikipedia
