Which Economic Model for China?—Review of La Voie chinoise by Michel Aglietta and Guo Bai

Abstract

This article presents a critique of the book La Voie chinoise written by Michel Aglietta and Guo Bai. After having presented the interpretation of the Chinese “sui generis capitalism” given by the authors, we give our own interpretation. This is followed by a discussion of some of the key issues examined in the book, including the imbalances of the Chinese economy, the allocation of factors and their prices, the rules applied to the bond and stock markets, the specificities of state-owned enterprises, the conception of public services, the question of strategic planning, and that of power in “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

Keywords:

• China
• development
• capitalism
• market socialism

Notes on Contributors

Tony Andréani is an emeritus professor of political science at the Paris 8 University. He is also co-editor-in-chief of International Critical Thought. His major works include From Society to History (in French; 2 volumes, Paris: Editions Méridiens-Klincksiek, 1989), Discourse on the Equality between Human Beings (in French; Paris: Editions L'Harmattan, 1993), A Being of Reason, A Critique of Homo Oeconomicus (in French; Paris: Editions Syllepse, 2000), and Socialism is (of) the Future (in French; 2 volumes, Paris: Editions Syllepse, 2nd ed., 2004), Ten Essays on Socialism in the 21st Century (in French; Paris: Editions Le temps des cerises, 2011).

Rémy Herrera is a full-time researcher at the CNRS (Centre national de la Recherche scientifique, National Centre of Scientific Research) and teaches at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Centre d’Économie de la Sorbonne) in France. He is also the executive secretary of the World Forum of Alternatives. He has published in several areas of economics, especially growth theory and development, and is particularly interested in analyzing the current crisis and its alternatives in terms of socialist transition.