Capitalism8217;s finest hour

Two features cry out for recognition. First, the change is truly fundamental and has entered the psyche of the people. Second, there is nothing ad hoc, everything fits into a pattern. China thinksreally long-term.

That people were ready to forget Maoism within two years of its originator8217;s death in 1976 is one of the minor conundrums of the Chinese mind. The Chairman was in power for 27 long years, 10 longer than Jawaharlal Nehru. Was the impact he made over so long a period in fact superficial, so much so that a previously sidelined leader could come out of the woodwork and turn the Mao legacy upside down?

Perhaps the Chinese are natural capitalists. The stereotype image of the old-world Chinese entrepreneur carrying bundles of silk from house to house in foreign lands is perhaps more true to life than the latter-day picture of blue-clad workers singing inspirational songs as they take great leaps forward. Mao8217;s call for revolution fitted an age when China was ravaged by warlords and Japanese and European exploiters. Freedom won, it was Deng8217;s call for enterprise-based progress that fitted with the Chinese character.

It might have been late in coming, but when it finally came, the people tookto it as if there had been no three-decade interruption.

The state sets the pace, as can be seen from the way it is preparing for the WTO. The government estimates that 9.7 million farmers will be rendered jobless because agricultural products will be impor-ted at costs lower than China8217;s. Automobile and machinery industries will be similarly affected.

But the gamble is in the anticipation that 12 million new jobs will be created as a result of WTO-generated econo-mic growth. If this proves to be right, the gamble will pay off, for just 1 per cent increase in the growth rate is estimated to create four million new jobs. There are, of course, info-rmed circles that question the validity of such calculations and even of the export projections, critical to the success of a post-WTO economy.

What is significant is that in the paradise of the proletariat, there are no agitations against privatisation and other unabashedly capitalist policies of the government. One reason could be the widespread statepublicity drive on WTO and related issues. There are handbills everywhere, even posters at wayside news-stands, telling people what it8217;s all about.

In fact, the new year saw a spate of reports saying that more state firms were going to be sold on the market. Policymakers are said to be of the view that if state-owned companies are listed on the share market and more private firms and individuals become shareholders, then the managements would be under pressure to improve productivity.

The drive for greater productivity is already a demonstrable success. People who work in state enterprises are offered a bonus if they complete a project ahe-ad of schedule. This has led to large numbers of people earning in excess of their normal salaries. Thanks to the incentives, all work ha-rd, all make money and all are happy. And the country progresses. The Badaling Expressway, a magnificent, international-qu-ality highway with six lanes and two shoulders, 35 km long, was completed in a year and a half.

That is thepace at which capitalism is transforming the face and the soul of China. Beijing, once a city of traditional imperial grandeur, is today an ultramodern cross between Hong Kong, New York and Sydney. Shanghai has a whole new twin coming up on the other side of the Huangpu River. This city, Pudong, is so ambitiously planned that it could become one of the world8217;s most glittering showcases of urban architecture and lifestyle.

The boulevards, multi-storey towers, shopping malls and entertainment plazas have all been built incredible as it seems in about five years. That8217;s where Communist state control has evidently helped. Entire communities have been moved out of Beijing and their homesteads bulldozed to make way for modern urban development. The displaced thousands have been properly resettled, but the absence of democratic obstacles has helped.

Another key to success is the power given to town and city authorities. Between the party secretary and the mayor of a town, they can do anything as long astargets are achieved. Many of them have turned their fiefdoms into efficiently-run green villages or prosperous industrial centres. Some get caught up in corruption and are either given exemplary punishment or quickly sent into oblivion. But the overall direction of progress is steadily maintained.

Corruption is an indication that capitalism is alive and kicking. Even importers are known to give kickbacks to officials here and there. In fabled Tian-anmen Square, foreign tourists are accosted by young ladies out on their own private enterprise. Drug abuse is as wi-despread as the popularity of McDonalds. AIDS is spreading.

Russia has all this and is floundering. India has all this and is pinned down by the Pakistan problem on the one hand and, on the other, by the fact that it has the world8217;s largest concentration of illiterates and poverty-stricken people. Not to mention a faction-riven polity suffering from licentious democracy.

China8217;s achievement is that capitalism8217;s ills have not diverted it fromthe path of meaningful progress. It has a master-plan for the future and, irrespective of ideological shifts and leadership changes, the plan8217;s aims remain fixed. This plan, if achieved, will transform the world. That8217;s why the world needs to take a hard took at it.pThe concluding part of this article will appear in Focus tomorrow