Dynamics of Development in the New China

The establishment of the People’s Republic marked a sharp change in China’s political elite and mode of governance. The degree of central control was much greater than under the Ch’ing dynasty or the KMT. It reached to the lowest levels of government, to the workplace, to farms and to households. The party was highly disciplined and maintained detailed oversight of the regular bureaucratic apparatus. The military were tightly integrated into the system. Propaganda for government policy and ideology was diffused through mass movements under party control. Landlords, national and foreign capitalist interests were eliminated by expropriation of private property. China became a command economy on the Soviet pattern. After a century of surrender or submission to foreign incursions and aggression, the new regime was a ferocious and successful defender of China’s national integrity, willing to operate with minimal links to the world economy.