Idealistic Studies

Volume 34, Issue 1, Spring 2004

Consciousness, Historical Materialism, and China’s Economic Reform

It is perhaps too early in the long history of humanity to draw definitive conclusions concerning the historical trajectories of traditional socialist countries. It is well known that major changes have been occurring in these countries, with most even turning away from socialism altogether. Many explanations have been propounded for this phenomenon. Some observers explain the turn away from socialism as a result of the backward stage of the development of productive forces. Everyone knows that most socialist countries were set up during times of poor economic conditions. Certainly, it is difficult to say how advanced the productive forces need to be in order to set up a durable and practical socialist system. In discussing the problem, I will be re-examining the practice of so-called traditional socialism in concentrating mostly on China, a country which has been and still is guided by its understanding of Marx’s theory of historical materialism.