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Is China Really Socialist?

Maffei, Alessandro LU (2023) EKHS35 20231
Department of Economic History
Abstract
This thesis investigates if China is a socialist economy or not. The topic, which has triggered many leading scholars, is highly interesting since
institutions are pivotal to understanding a country’s economic performance. Previous studies have neglected the classic socialist literature, giving ambiguous interpretations of what is socialism. This thesis fills that gap through a multicriteria approach. Starting from original documents, letters, and books by Marx and Engels, it establishes three minimal criteria to define socialism. The criteria focus on the control of the means of production, labour standards, and
universalism of social insurance. Then, I explore whether China meets these minimal criteria through an archival material... (More)
This thesis investigates if China is a socialist economy or not. The topic, which has triggered many leading scholars, is highly interesting since
institutions are pivotal to understanding a country’s economic performance. Previous studies have neglected the classic socialist literature, giving ambiguous interpretations of what is socialism. This thesis fills that gap through a multicriteria approach. Starting from original documents, letters, and books by Marx and Engels, it establishes three minimal criteria to define socialism. The criteria focus on the control of the means of production, labour standards, and
universalism of social insurance. Then, I explore whether China meets these minimal criteria through an archival material analysis based on primary official sources. The result is that China should not be considered a socialist country. This thesis could enrich the academic debate by improving the understanding of socialist institutions and through the investigation of the three criteria in the Chinese context. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Maffei, Alessandro LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Is China Really Socialist? A Contemporary Analysis Through Classics
course
EKHS35 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
China - Political Economy - Economic History - Socialism
language
English
id
9125483
date added to LUP
2023-09-21 10:36:05
date last changed
2023-09-21 10:36:05
@misc{9125483,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates if China is a socialist economy or not. The topic, which has triggered many leading scholars, is highly interesting since
institutions are pivotal to understanding a country’s economic performance. Previous studies have neglected the classic socialist literature, giving ambiguous interpretations of what is socialism. This thesis fills that gap through a multicriteria approach. Starting from original documents, letters, and books by Marx and Engels, it establishes three minimal criteria to define socialism. The criteria focus on the control of the means of production, labour standards, and 
universalism of social insurance. Then, I explore whether China meets these minimal criteria through an archival material analysis based on primary official sources. The result is that China should not be considered a socialist country. This thesis could enrich the academic debate by improving the understanding of socialist institutions and through the investigation of the three criteria in the Chinese context.}},
  author       = {{Maffei, Alessandro}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Is China Really Socialist?}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}