China’s Capitalist Turn: Has Socialism Been Abandoned?

By Paulus Strother

Since 1978, the People’s Republic of China has undergone sweeping economic reforms that many view as a departure from core socialist principles. Deng Xiaoping’s policies marked a sharp shift away from Marxism-Leninism and the revolutionary ideals of Mao Zedong, steering the country toward market-driven capitalism. Under Deng’s leadership, private ownership was reintroduced and Western capitalist enterprises were actively encouraged to invest—moves that Maoist critics regard as capitulations to bourgeois interests. The introduction of capitalist elements—such as private property, special economic zones, and openness to foreign capital—does not serve the people. Instead, it has paved the way for the emergence of a new bourgeois class within China. True socialism is built upon the dictatorship of the proletariat, the elimination of exploitation, and the foundation of collective ownership. Deng’s economic course has produced increasing social inequality, sharpened class divisions, and signaled a drift away from the revolutionary spirit that founded the People’s Republic. In the present day, China continues to follow the path of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” For that reason, it is no longer appropriate to refer to China as a socialist state. Notably, more than 80 billionaires currently sit in the Chinese Parliament—a stark indication of how far the country has moved from its original proletarian roots. Some Dengists claim that Mao himself would have been revisionist for permitting the existence of a national bourgeoisie. But this comparison fails. The national bourgeoisie under Mao existed only briefly, during a time when the peasantry played a central role in developing industry and agriculture. Once their historical function was fulfilled, they were no longer necessary. Deng and the leaders who followed him, on the other hand, legitimized a class that continues to dominate and exploit to this day.