There is no pre-set formula for shifting an economy from socialism to capitalism; however, China has employed a method which has been successful and is therefore worthy of study. Prior to 1978, Communist Party of China (CPC) officials struggled to come up with a way to generate sufficient surplus value to finance the modernization of the mainland Chinese economy. Neither the socialist command economy, advocated by CPC conservatives, nor the Maoist Great Leap Forward in agriculture was able to achieve this goal. Beginning in 1978, however, Chinese economic reforms, such as the state enterprise reform, which privatized state enterprises and encouraged the creation of more efficient and profitable enterprises, improved the health of the overall economy and lifted millions of Chinese citizens out of poverty. During the reign of Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong (1949-1976), 53 percent of China's population lived in poverty. By 1981, when the reforms were well under way, the nationwide poverty level decreased to 12 percent, and by 2001, it had decreased to 6 percent.
In addition to lifting a large segment of the population out of poverty, Chinese economic reforms have succeeded in rapidly expanding the overall economy. China's economy grew by 11.4 percent in 2007, the fifth year in a row in which GDP expanded by more than 10 percent. A major reason behind this success has been the recent government initiative to incent workers and farmers to increase productivity and generate industrial and agricultural surpluses, thereby eliminating the economic imbalances common in command economies.
Although many have called Chinese economic reforms a return to capitalism, CPC officials insist that these reforms do, in fact, constitute a form of socialism, because to insist otherwise would call into question the validity of Marxism and the legitimacy of the Communist Party regime. These officials do not, however, deny that many of the policies in question are identical to those employed in capitalist nations, but acknowledge that it would be unwise for China to reject effective strategies to appease ideological sensibilities. To quote the late Chinese politician and reformer, Deng Xiaoping, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice." What these officials fail to recognize is that the success of capitalist policies is likely to eat away at popular support for socialist ideology.
The highlighted quotation is most likely used to
(A) describe the rationale for a position that the author agrees with
(B) state a resolution to the paradox described in the preceding sentence
(C) show how opponents of a viewpoint have rationalized their counterarguments
(D) point out an inaccuracy contained in a popular viewpoint
(E) present a popular maxim to challenge the principle introduced in the second paragraph
In addition to lifting a large segment of the population out of poverty, Chinese economic reforms have succeeded in rapidly expanding the overall economy. China's economy grew by 11.4 percent in 2007, the fifth year in a row in which GDP expanded by more than 10 percent. A major reason behind this success has been the recent government initiative to incent workers and farmers to increase productivity and generate industrial and agricultural surpluses, thereby eliminating the economic imbalances common in command economies.
Although many have called Chinese economic reforms a return to capitalism, CPC officials insist that these reforms do, in fact, constitute a form of socialism, because to insist otherwise would call into question the validity of Marxism and the legitimacy of the Communist Party regime. These officials do not, however, deny that many of the policies in question are identical to those employed in capitalist nations, but acknowledge that it would be unwise for China to reject effective strategies to appease ideological sensibilities. To quote the late Chinese politician and reformer, Deng Xiaoping, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice." What these officials fail to recognize is that the success of capitalist policies is likely to eat away at popular support for socialist ideology.
The highlighted quotation is most likely used to
(A) describe the rationale for a position that the author agrees with
(B) state a resolution to the paradox described in the preceding sentence
(C) show how opponents of a viewpoint have rationalized their counterarguments
(D) point out an inaccuracy contained in a popular viewpoint
(E) present a popular maxim to challenge the principle introduced in the second paragraph
