From Ironclad to Discreet Rule of the Proletariat

By the demonstration effect, China is a model to be emulated, but more so theoretically rather than by replication. If anything, nations of the global South must rid themselves of neoliberally imposed ‘one-size-fits all’ models, which are instrumentalised to shift value to empire. They are best practices in reverse: they serve the interests of the US empire. They rob nations of their history and resources. Theoretically, identification with a model is an impossibility; hence, developing nations need to search for the theory that corresponds to their own conditions and strategies of development. China’s experience, anchored in labour as the historical agent, offers numerous theoretical cues to develop such a model. Thinking development with a subject, as opposed to only substance in mind, voids reductionist politics in favour of more sober class analysis. This work is about the relevant social and economic underpinning of the Chinese development experience vis-a-vis the preponderant neoliberal model.