3 ms·

> state capitalism An interesting term not heard much nowadays. The Economist applied it to China’s governance model, back in 2012: https://www.economist.com

> state capitalism An interesting term not heard much nowadays. The Economist applied it to China’s governance model, back in 2012: https://www.economist.com/special-report/2012/01/21/the-visible-hand https://www.economist.com/special-report/2012/01/21/the-visi...

not2b 5y ago
You hear it a lot from left-anarchists who oppose Communism as practiced by the USSR, and they mean it differently from the way the Economist means it. They would say that under the USSR, the state owned the factories but the workers had no more power than they do in a western capitalist country: like the ending of "Animal Farm".
Animats 5y ago
Now Britain is moving towards state capitalism, with "Great British Railways". This is in the tradition of British "lemon socialism" - have the government run the troubled industries. In the 1950s, the government owned the steel, coal, and rail industries. "How Asia Works", by Joe Studwell, is worth reading. How East Asia moved into the 21st century is detailed, country by country. There were two startup phases: 1) Fix agriculture so it doesn't take most of the workforce, 2) Get export industries going. Countries which got those two right did well, and those which did not, didn't. Getting it wrong often involved the military running businesses, usually for the benefit of generals. The "Asian tigers" are now past that. It's not as clear on what the next phase is. China has formal five year plans. Currently, the 14th five year plan, 2021-2025, is in progress. Unlike the USSR's five year plans, China's plans from the Sixth Plan (1981-1985) forward have been generally successful. The current plan has, as usual, a number of components. One is to catch up in some specific areas - aircraft, advanced semiconductors. That's coming along well. Another is "dual circulation" - building up internal demand and not being so dependent on exports. The US generally avoids the government actively running businesses, but it's not that rare in other countries. [1] https://groveatlantic.com/book/how-asia-works https://groveatlantic.com/book/how-asia-works
- pjc50 5y ago
  "Lemon socialism" is such a good phrase. I do sometimes find it odd how the UK has absolutely zero recognizable "industrial policy".

not2b 5y ago

You hear it a lot from left-anarchists who oppose Communism as practiced by the USSR, and they mean it differently from the way the Economist means it. They would say that under the USSR, the state owned the factories but the workers had no more power than they do in a western capitalist country: like the ending of "Animal Farm".

Animats 5y ago

Now Britain is moving towards state capitalism, with "Great British Railways". This is in the tradition of British "lemon socialism" - have the government run the troubled industries. In the 1950s, the government owned the steel, coal, and rail industries. "How Asia Works", by Joe Studwell, is worth reading. How East Asia moved into the 21st century is detailed, country by country. There were two startup phases: 1) Fix agriculture so it doesn't take most of the workforce, 2) Get export industries going. Countries which got those two right did well, and those which did not, didn't. Getting it wrong often involved the military running businesses, usually for the benefit of generals. The "Asian tigers" are now past that. It's not as clear on what the next phase is. China has formal five year plans. Currently, the 14th five year plan, 2021-2025, is in progress. Unlike the USSR's five year plans, China's plans from the Sixth Plan (1981-1985) forward have been generally successful. The current plan has, as usual, a number of components. One is to catch up in some specific areas - aircraft, advanced semiconductors. That's coming along well. Another is "dual circulation" - building up internal demand and not being so dependent on exports. The US generally avoids the government actively running businesses, but it's not that rare in other countries. [1] https://groveatlantic.com/book/how-asia-works https://groveatlantic.com/book/how-asia-works

pjc50 5y ago
"Lemon socialism" is such a good phrase. I do sometimes find it odd how the UK has absolutely zero recognizable "industrial policy".