Chen Kang: National Capitalism, or market socialism?

Chen Kang

In recent years, many people have used national capitalism to describe the Chinese economy.In fact, Stalinism, no governmentism, Toloski, and Italian fascism have all defined national capitalism.

In addition to China, the United States during the Russia and the financial crisis under Norway, Singapore, and Putin has also been labeled by national capitalism.Only pay attention to the characteristics of the country's control of production materials and ignore the fundamental differences between politics and legal systems. This concept of being abused is not practical except for the economic reform that is often used by the left to attack China.

When China began to reform the planned economy, it coincided with Hungarian economist Nono Middot; Janos Kornai published the ECONOMICS of Shortage.This book was popular all the socialist countries because the shortage was the normal state of these countries.Store shelves in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are empty, and they have long lines when they are sold. In China, buying consumer goods requires the bills that are distributed with a volume., Matching tickets, rare daily necessities do not require limited supply.

The shortage of shortage of the shortage of the planned economic manufacturing shortage has conducted a profound analysis of the reasons for the shortage of planning economy. It seized the main contradictions in the economic life of socialist countries, and suddenly attracted great attention from everyone.

Hungary is one of the earliest socialist countries that carry out market -oriented reform. As early as 1968, market socialism named the new economic model began.China's reform leaders have a strong interest in Hungary's experience.In 1983, the Hungarian Economist delegation visited China to introduce the experience of Hungary's economic system reform to the Academy of Social Sciences and the National Reform Commission.

In 1985, 10 foreign economists including Professor Cornah were invited to participate in the famous Bashan Wheel Conference to provide opinions on China's economic reform.The impact of this meeting was great. The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to regulate the market with the country and the market guiding enterprises as the target model of economic reform. It is said that according to the Bashan Wheel Conference formed.

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the transformation of Eastern Europe, China and Vietnam have successively implemented market -oriented reforms. The shortage economy will no longer exist in the 1990s.Time has moved, and now there are not many people who have impressed the shortage of the shortage economy. People naturally forget that Cornah and his shortage economics.However, Cornah should not be forgotten. He has a profound analysis of marketing socialism and has guiding significance to this day.

Born out of the central plan economy, the political system of one -party dictatorship in China is not much changed compared with before the reform, but it is closer to the situation when the marketing socialism is implemented in Hungary.In addition, at the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1992, it also clearly proposed to establish a socialist market economy system.Therefore, in -depth analysis of the operating mechanism of marketing socialism, for the prospects of looking forward to the Chinese economy, will be more practical and more helpful than the use of national capitalism.

After more than 40 years of reform and opening up, China still has not completely got rid of the influence of the planned economy to this day, and has also been deeply laid down to market socialism because of learning Hungary's experience in the early stages of reform.Although market -oriented reforms have gone further compared to Hungary in the 1980s, in the three aspects of investing in three aspects: Investment HUNGER, Soft Budget Constraint, and Simulated Capital Market, Hungary still retain HungaryImportant features of the new economic model period.

Investment hunger

After Hungary implemented marketing socialism, although the instruction plan indicators were abolished, in order to form an organic combination of central management and market forces, the government also frequently intervened in enterprises, so that corporate managers form a eye to see the market and one eye to see one eye.Double dependencies of superiors.

Compared with the market, superiors have greater influence on themselves.Therefore, enterprises and institutions still have a strong impulse to expand investment. Managers attempt to make enterprises or institutions more and more important through investment expansion.The purpose of this investment expansion is not profit, but to make the managers more likely to move upward in the bureaucrat's pyramid.Cornah refers to this inherent expansion impulse to invest in hunger and thirst.

The Chinese economy also maintains the dual impact of the government and the market on enterprises today.Although state -owned enterprises have to face the market, superiors have a greater influence on themselves. They still play a decisive role in the business environment, personal compensation and promotion.Therefore, investment decisions are inevitable to be affected by superiors, sometimes as political tasks.

More importantly, to a large extent, China's investment hunger has shifted from state -owned enterprises to local governments.With the growth of insurance, it has become an important indicator of performance evaluation. The investment projects of local governments have become the main way to complete the growth of GDP (GDP).In addition to cooperating with the central government's industrial policies and local infrastructure, various political projects and image projects have also been launched.

Budget soft constraint

In the real market economy, even if there is an impulse to expand, its investment activities are subject to profit, risks, budgets and capital markets.

In market socialism, Hungarian state -owned enterprises can still obtain the approval of investment projects and corresponding funding facilities through administrative relations and political influence.constraint.Corina refers to this phenomenon as a soft constraint of budget.

Like investing in hunger and thirst, China's budget soft constraints have also shifted from state -owned enterprises to local governments.In the mid -1990s, China also tried to clear the boundaries of finance and finance by cleaning up the bad debt of state -owned banks and strengthening the government's financial discipline.However, the tightening tightening between 1997 and 2002 forced the government to have to put the growth of insurance to the first place.

Under the banner of Baoba, from vigorously developing land finances, to using government financing platforms, to various disguised government liabilities, in order to meet investment hunger and thirst, the local government uses everything.Like state -owned enterprises, it is not restricted by fiscal budget constraints.The central government used to restrict local governments in three orders, but the central leaders also knew that the clever woman was difficult to cook for rice without rice. To create economic growth, it was necessary to increase local government investment.

Without the guarantee of funds, the growth of local governments is a empty word.In recent years, although the central government has emphasized the transformation of economic growth methods and strengthening the control of government debt, local governments neither GDP are the heroes nor GDP.Therefore, the soft constraints of the budget have been maintained so far, and government debt is still increasing.

Sims capital market

The Hungarian version of the marketing socialism maintains the state's control of the economic system (Commanding Heights), and believes that this is the basic guarantee of social stability, and the control and distribution of funds also include it.However, the government is also trying to introduce some capital market operations.

Corina calls these activities a simulated capital market and pointed out: Westerners who flew from the World Bank or International Monetary Fund to Hungary for a few weeks may be dumped by HELLIP; hellip; hellip;They may not notice that banks, joint -stock companies, or stock markets are all products.What is in progress here is actually a rich man game, but the players who play games are not children but government officials. They are not using game banknotes, but real national funds.

The reform of China's capital market is deeper than Hungary, and the proportion of funds in the market in the market is also higher, but this does not fundamentally change the essence of simulation the capital market.According to the report of a 2018 article, who controls China's financial system, the Ministry of Finance, the SASAC, the state -owned enterprise, and the local governments are all kinds of banks, big brokers, trust companies, big fundsThe main shareholders or actual controllers of the company, insurance company.The government not only controls most financial institutions, but also has the right to appoint and remove its executives.

Although the situation of cross -holding stocks is relatively complicated, many transactions are not from the perspective of profitability, and they still have not got rid of the essence of simulating the capital market.For example, a state -owned bank loan actively tilted to state -owned enterprises, and non -state -owned enterprise loans have difficulty loans and high costs.Many decisions of financial institutions belong to non -market decisions. Sometimes the business that makes money is not done or cannot be done. Sometimes the business of losing money is to be done and resolutely.In addition, whether anyone is in the breach of contract is also a great uncertainty. It is difficult to evaluate the risk of opponents, and financial products cannot be rationally priced.

The three characteristics of marketism in market are actually closely related.If the capital market is really allowed to play a decisive role in the allocation of financial resources, market discipline will not allow finance to overdraw the financial over finance.contain.

So, will market socialist countries take the initiative to abandon the control of financial resources and allow the right to distribute resources in the capital market?Colena believes not, there are four reasons.

First of all, state -owned enterprises and local governments are the foundation of national political power, and national governance must rely on them.Without financial resources to guarantee, the national execution capacity must be greatly reduced.

Second, half -heart of the Communist Party's reformers is hung on the market because the market is vibrant and can improve corporate efficiency; in addition, most hearts are hung on the core value of socialism.Socialism pays attention to equality, which determines that the government cannot let the market be calculated everything, and has a responsibility and obligation to intervene in the capital market.

Third, the property rights structure of public ownership also determines the stubbornness of the soft -constraints of the budget.The assets of state -owned enterprises and local governments are controlled by bureaucrats, and it is very difficult to rely on bureaucrats to strictly implement the financial discipline.

Fourth, the intervention and control of the superior government provides reasons for the mistakes of their lower management personnel to open their own mistakes, so that the budget constraints cannot be hardened.

Deng Xiaoping said: The market economy does not mean capitalism, and socialism also has a market.In practice, marketing socialism is facing two major challenges.

First, how many markets can there be, in fact, it is determined by the government, and the government is composed of thousands of bureaucratic bureaucrats.According to their own interests, they determine the depth, breadth, and frequency of government intervention in various industries and regions.The political wind direction has changed slightly, and the bureaucracy's preferences will change, and the market functions and vitality will be very different.

Second, as a tool for doing the economy, the market may also impact the bottom line of socialism.In the early days of poverty and shortage, most people support the role of emphasis on development and expanding the market.With the growth of economic development and wealth, income inequality has expanded rapidly, and social contradictions have intensified.At this time, the government will face pressure and must emphasize the core value of socialism.Whether it is the teachings that Confucius does not suffer from widows, or the lessons of the Towowir old system and the revolution in the Revolution, the leaders cannot ignore the leaders.

From building a harmonious society in socialism to not forgetting the original intention and keeping your mission in mind, it actually reflects the focus of socialism in the Chinese market. It has gradually shifted from the development of the market economy and gradually shifted to adhering to socialist ideology and core values.

Cornah warned that the socialist economy and market mechanism, which was the main system of public ownership, was actually repulsive, and market -oriented reforms were likely to stagnate.Why do you have more tolerance for the left?Why do you want to grow bigger and stronger state -owned enterprises?Why should the forces outside the system be strictly controlled?Why is the reform of the capital market small rainy?Cornah's insight into market socialism can inspire us to find the answer to these questions.

China Project Director of the Chinese University of Public Policy, the National University of Singapore