[Marxism] Re.: Sharpening the nail for the coffin

[Chris Brady <cdbrady@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Party leaders who control the legislature already say private property
is essential to advancing economic reforms that have let millions of
Chinese lift themselves out of poverty."

No point in showing the other side of the coin, as it were.
At least for cheerleaders of capital.
But for us, here is some supplemental input:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In China, School Fees Keep Many Children Away

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL, The New York Times, 1 November 1999

[selected quotes:]

In many parts of poor rural China, economics are keeping an increasing
number of children out of the classroom. Required fees at state schools
have grown exponentially since the central government largely stopped
subsidizing primary education a decade ago. Today education is
increasingly a luxury item in China?s poorest villages, purchased only
when finances allow -- and far more often for boys than for girls.

[clip]

In a report on education to be published soon, a Communist Youth League
official in Guyuan laid out his county?s plight: Total revenue is less
than $2 million a year in a county with half a million people and 408
schools. Just to pay the county?s 5,000 teachers requires more than $3
million annually -- and that does not begin to address costs like
classroom supplies and building upkeep.

[clip]

Likewise, a township Communist Party secretary in western Qinghai
Province, a sparsely populated area of nomadic herders, recently told
the Economic Information Daily that ?mobilizing children to go to school
has become the biggest headache for our township and village cadres.?
Herders, the official said, are unwilling to send their children;

[clip].

?Children can?t go to school because their families can?t pay,? said
Yuan.

Recent changes in China?s labor market also mean poor farmers see fewer
benefits to schooling.

A decade ago, education was a reliable route for smart children to
escape the countryside -- springing from local schools, to the country?s
free regional universities and on to a secure government job.

But today, China?s universities have started to charge significant
tuition, beyond the reach of the very poor. Also, with China?s state
sector shrinking and the economy slumping, more college graduates find
themselves unemployed.

?In the past, university graduates would all get jobs,? said Shi
Jinghuan, a researcher at Beijing Normal University, China?s most
prestigious teachers? college. ?But now it?s much harder. And these
rural kids don?t have connections. So they don?t get jobs, and then come
back to work in the fields -- which they?re not good at anyway. So
unfortunately the parents say, why bother??

[clip]

Chongqing County, Sichuan Province, more than 30 percent of children
ages 12 to 17 in poor areas were dropouts, and three-quarters of the
dropouts were girls.

The preponderance of female dropouts reflects centuries-old biases, but
also practical considerations: In rural China, married daughters move
away to their husband?s community, while married sons remain at home to
support their parents.

Shan Xinlian, a Hui woman in Nanjiao, Ningxia, has two sons, ages 7 and
12, in elementary school and an 8-year-old daughter in a subsidized
second grade class for girls. Ms. Shan never went to school -- and
freely admits that her daughter probably would not either, if she had to
pay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the Road to Capitalism, China Hits a Nasty Curve: Joblessness

By ERIK ECKHOLM , NYT January 20, 1998
[headline almost says it all, except, to reinforce the hierarchy of
sexism inherent to the change to capitalist relations:]

"...Often, the first to be laid off are women in their 30s or 40s, ..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[No more Comrades:]

MODERN CHINESE
Hey, Mister! You?re No Comrade.
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL NYT November 28, 1999

BEIJING -- As a greeting, it seems peculiarly unsuited to the themes of
life in modern urban China. Imagine this: ?Comrade, do you like
Starbucks? caffé latte?? Or this: ?Comrade, how did you do on the
G.R.E.?s?? Or even this: ?Comrade, did your stocks go up today??

And so it was perhaps no surprise that the latest edition of China?s
dictionary of record, Cihai (The Sea of Words), narrowed the definition
of the word tongzhi -- or comrade -- out of everyday life, concluding
that it could no longer be regarded as the greeting among China?s
citizens.

In the 1979 ?Sea of Words,? ?comrade? was ?a general form of address
among the citizens of our country.? At the time, comrade was China?s
universal salutation. In the 1989 revision of the dictionary, ?comrade?
was ?a general form of address among the citizens of socialist
countries.?

But the newest edition, published last month, drops all such
descriptions, noting: ?In the era of reform and opening up, ?comrade? is
no longer the only form of address among ordinary people. The Chinese
words for Mister, Ma?am, Master and Miss have returned as terms of
respect and cordiality.?

In fact, it is very rare to hear the word ?comrade? today in ordinary
conversations; when it appears, it sounds like a blast from the past,
like those Little Red Books of Mao?s sayings that are sold as
curiosities in street markets.
[clip]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Urban anguish at decline in socialist values

DANIEL KWAN
 South China Morning Post, Monday, 3 January 2000

 Most urban dwellers are disappointed by the country?s declining
socialist values and division of wealth, a survey has showed.

[clip]

More than 82 per cent said they were unhappy about declining socialist
culture and more than 80 per cent were worried by the widening gap
between the rich and poor.

Other areas of complaint were unemployment, poor-quality goods, lax
environmental protection, law and order, social welfare, and disrespect
for the law by cadres.

Their levels of disapproval were all above 60 per cent, according to a
report by the Hong Kong China News Agency yesterday.

[clip]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Workers? Rights Suffering as China Goes Capitalist

By ERIK ECKHOLM, NYT, 22 AUG. 2001
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/22/international/asia/22CHIN.html?pagewanted=print

[clip]

With the collapse of the state industries that once dominated China,
tens of millions of the workers who were long portrayed as official
masters of the Communist nation have been virtually cast aside.

[clip]

inequality is growing fast

[clip]

"The conditions that many of these workers face today are no better than
the conditions that Marx described in `Das Kapital,' " said Ms. He, the
author and social critic, who lived in the special export zone of
Shenzhen until leaving this summer for the United States after suffering
police harassment.

[clip]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many miss Mao

 Order Yielding to Lawlessness in Rural China

By ERIK ECKHOLM New York Times, 29 May 2002
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/29/international/asia/29CHIN.html

[clip]

 widespread lawlessness that has grown in many of China's towns and
villages in the last two decades as once stringent Maoist discipline has
withered, and often been replaced by an economic free-for-all that is
devoid of public cohesion or shared ideals.

Today even senior Beijing leaders and the official news media have begun
to acknowledge the problem, repeatedly condemning cowed and corrupt
police departments that function as "protective umbrellas" for criminal
gangs.
[clip]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Poisoned Back Into Poverty
As China Embraces Capitalism, Hazards to Workers Rise

 By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service, Sunday, August 4, 2002; Page A01
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hell, yeah!
Sweet for the winners,
shit for the losers.
Some richer, more poorer.



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