Seminar: Capitalism in China: Development of Social and Economic Institutions
Summer 2014
National Chengchi University
Instructor: Nan Lin
Version: 1/19/2014
Course Synopsis:
This course will explore the thesis that China hosts an emerging capitalist society.
Studying the nature of this capitalism will allow us to evaluate and reassess the definition
and theories of capitalism – a pivotal notion in the contemporary explanation of
economic growth and associated ideas such as freedom and democracy. It will also afford
us a better understanding of how this capitalism could impact the world economically,
politically, and socially. Finally, it may help to identify clues about the mechanisms that
are guiding China into the future. Specifically the course will make the following
arguments. First, capitalism consists of a set of social institutions that sustain the
production, accumulation and reproduction of capital and these institutions include:
calculating capitalists, free markets, wage labor, an expansive system, and a strong and
supportive state. Theories ranging from self-interest – the psychological motive,
exploitative reproduction – the sociopolitical motive, to institutional enticement – the
cultural motive, and the networking imperative – the social motive, and they collectively
explain how these institutions are coordinated. Second, China today strongly meets these
requirements as a capitalist state. Capitalism in China, further, exhibits two relatively
unique features: the state as capitalists and social relations (guanxi) embedding economic
activities. Finally, the course will consider theoretical implications of these institutional
features for conceptualizing and theorizing capitalism, and for understanding global and
domestic developments.
Expectations and Grading
The student is expected to attend classes, do the requested readings before classes,
participate in class discussions, write reports (2-3) during the course, and submit a term
paper at the end of the semester.
Readings:
Required:
Heilbroner, Robert. 1985. The Nature and Logic of Capitalism. New York:
W. W. Norton.
Nan Lin 2008. “Emerging Chinese Capitalism and its Theoretical and Global
Significance,” Social Transformations in Chinese Societies (Special Focus:
Chinese Capitalism), 3: 13-62.
Nan Lin 2011 “Capitalism in China: A Centrally Managed Capitalism (CMC)
and Its Future” Management and Organization Research. 7-1:63-96 (March).
Recommended:
Nan Lin 2001. Social Capital: A Theory of Structure and Action. London
and New York: Cambridge University Press.
Shambaugh, David, editor. 2006. Power Shift: China and Asia's New
Dyanmics. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Shenkar, Oded. 2004. The Chinese Century: The Rising Economy and Its
Impact on the Global Economy, the Balance of Power, and Your Job.
Philadelphia: Wharton School Publisher.
Kynge, James. 2006. China Shakes the World: A Titan's Rise and
Troubled Future - and the Challenge for America. New York: Houghton Miffin.
Polanyi, Karl. 1944. The Great Transformation. Boston: Beacon Press.
Smith, Adam. 1937. The Wealth of Nations. New York: Modern Library
Edition.
Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1979a.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The
Capitalist
World
Economy.
Arrighi, Giovanni. 2007. Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the
Twenty-First Century. NY: Verso.
Topics and Schedule
The rise of China: an overview
A historical view: The East and the West
Wikipedia, BBC, the Economist
A review of the history of China.
Wikipedia: history of China
Time line of Chinese history
Economy
Government
Politics
A review of the history of China’s relations with Japan, Europe and the
United States.
China since 1949: the contemporary era
Trends since 1978:
Lin 2008, pp. 1-3
Three good decades 12/2008
Communism and capitalism hybrid – 1/2009
Rural reform
Urban reform
Set-back: 1980s
Deng’s southern tour, 1992
GDP trends
Poverty reduction
Consumption of: rice, soy oil, cotton, zinc, iron ore, steel production, coal,
oil, etc.
Manufacturing:
Exports and imports
Pollution and corruption
Economic downturns: 2008/12/21
Unemployment
Forecast:
Economic ranking by PPP
Economic ranking by actual market exchange rates
Possible causes of the rise:
Lin 2008, pp. 4-6
Capitalism: indirect proof
Expert testimonies
Neo-Confucianism
Entrepreneurship
Economic development leading to capitalism
The primary stage of socialism
What is capitalism?
What is capital?
Heilbroner, Chapters 2, 3
Lin, 2001, Chapter 1
Hooker: capitalism
Capitalism: Wikipedia
Capitalism: a set of arrangements of social institutions that sustains the production,
reproduction and accumulation of capital.
Ellen Merksins Wood: origins of capitalism
Capitalism: western views
Hooker: the European enlightenment
Mercantile system
Friedman: capitalism
Institutions of capitalism
Lin {Lin 2008 b} pp. 7-20
Williamson: institutions of capitalism
Calculating capitalists
Free markets
Wage labor
An expanding system
Wallerstein 1979
Braudel: Trade, Afterthoughts, Summary,
A strong and supportive state
Evans: Embedded Autonomy
Hobson: the wealth of the states
Rand 1946 is wrong
Braudel 1977
Polanyi 1944; Polanyi, Arensbert, Pearson 1957
Weiss 1998; Evans, Rueschemeyer and Skocpal 2002, Skocpal 1996;
Hobson 1997
Fligstein 2005
Heilbroner Chapter 4
Two contending institutions
Property rights
Rand
Alchian and Demsetz 1973
Balihar Sanghera-property rights
Bundle of rights
Ownership versus use rights
Heilbroner
Amen Alchian: property rights
De Soto, 2000, theory and unproven
De Soto: private property
De Soto: property rights
Democracy
Friedman 1962
Friedman
Friedman: capitalism and freedom
Friedman: Chapter 2
Fukuyama: end of history
Democracy as a cause or as a consequence?
Heilbroner
Capitalism without democracy
Britain: voting rights in urban areas 1867; in rural areas 1928
US: White males with property and religious test 1810-1820;
African-American voting rights: 1870
Women: 1920
Theories of capitalism
Lin 2008 pp. 20 – 23
Heilbroner Chapters 5. 6
Self-interest: Adam Smith, Rand
Pack 1991: Adam Smith
Exploitative reproduction relations: Karl Marx
Chambers Johnson: exporting the American model
The cultural enticement: Max Weber
Weber: The spirit of Protestant Ethics
Christian roots of capitalism
Networking and chain of commodities: Wallerstein, Bruadel, Castells, Hamilton
and Biggart
Wallerstein, 1979
Multiple models of capitalism
Lin 2008, pp. 23-26
Coates: models of capitalism
Albert 1991-1993: Albert: Models of capitalism
Authoritarian capitalism
azar-gat-authoritarian-capitalism-061407
Richard Whitley (1999):
Whitley: divergent capitalisms
Victor Lippit, 2005
mount-holy-yoke-state-capitalism
wikipedia-state-capitalism
Britain – US: British capitalism
Continental Europe:
East Asia: Japan, the four tigers
Chambers Johnson 1982
Gary Hamilton and Nicole Biggart (1988):
Is Chinese society a capitalist society?
Lin 2008 pp. 26-43
Breslin: capitalism with Chinese character
Capitalism: the Chinese way
McNally: capitalist transition
Calculating capitalists
The rise of the middle class
Increasing private sector
Barefoot banker
Capitalists get the profits
Venture capitalists: 2-0405; 3-0405; 0405
Free markets
Exports and imports
Factory of the world
Domestic markets
Market of the world
Competitiveness of indigenous actors: manufacturing, services, financial
Rise of the private sector
Consumption
Corporate profits
The wage labor
Executive pays
The expansive system
Build-up of the infrastructure: roads, railroad, airports, harbors
Overseas expansion:
Africa
Latin America
Middle east
Asia
Europe
North America
Strong and leading state
Unique features of Chinese capitalism
Lin 2008, pp. 43-52
State as capitalists
Stakeholder capitalism
Centrally Managed Capitalism (CMC)
Control of 9ersonnel
Control of organizations
Control of capital (assets)
Social relations: guanxi
Polanyi: social relations and capitalism
Family enterprises
Redding 1990
Implications for theory
Lin 2008, pp. 52-61
Capitalism needs no capitalism
The state and capitalism
Why capitalism in China failed before
Corporate governance
Social relations and capitalism
Embedding capitalism in social relations?
Lin: The wealth of society 2008
Challenges to Chinese capitalism
Lin 2008, pp. 61-75
Domestic challenges and responses:
Capitalism and class struggle
Ugly head of capitalism: counter-revolution
Authoritarian capitalism debates
Inequality and capitalism
Ranis: not going to work
Land disputes
Corruption
Consumption and waste
Pollution
Income inequality and unrest
Ethnic tensions
Political reform?
Globalization for whom?
US-China relations
China and US
Where to, capitalism, socialism, or a “third” way?
Lin 2008, pp. 76-82
Heilbroner Chapter 7
From the primary to mature stage of socialism?
Plain capitalism or social market economy?
Maturing capitalism?
McNally: emerging capitalism 2006
Seldon: socialism or capitalism?
Wallerstein: historical capitalism
Financial firms in trouble – 040205
Outsourcing the ceo’s?
william-j-baumol-american-model-070507
Where to, China?
Toward the mature stage of socialism?
Planned capitalism?
Indigenization of capitalism?
Xiaokang (moderate prosperity) and Datong (universal harmony)
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