This is the Unknown Cultural Revolution in China; this was not achieved by capitalism. (I add "in China" to differentiate it from Iran's CR, which was the world's only other state-sponsored CR.)
Can we have some of that, please?!
How did they do it?
Can we replicate it?
For under-developed nations the idea that such increases could actually be made in only 10 years must sound like a gift from heaven.
What we can dispense with is the idea that it was luck: The increase came despite the worst and longest drought in Jimo in several decades (1967-1969), so in many ways the CR succeeded where the Great Leap Forward failed, as the GLF was famously handicapped by weather disasters.
"In these 10 years, Jimo suffered no less serious and no fewer natural disasters than in previous decades. There were altogether four serious droughts, four serious floods, four wind disasters, nine hailstorms and three serious insect disasters. Nevertheless, agricultural production steadily and rapidly increased," as Han notes.
The rural-urban divide exists because the rural viewpoint is historically repressed Mao knew this, the CR aimed to fix it
Such stunning data allows Han to make a hugely exciting, revolutionary declaration on the CR, and one which directly contradicts both the Western propaganda view as well as the official Chinese view today:
"The radical egalitarianism of the Cultural Revolution decade (1966-1976), official history maintains, led to economic disaster. The official assessment is widely endorsed by Chinese intellectuals and echoed by Western academics."
But there was obviously no disaster"? Why China maintains this official stance will be explained later in this series, but only after we ask: "How could such an amazing socio-economic success occur?"
Han's thesis is: ""this study contends that that the political convulsions of the Cultural Revolution democratized village political culture and spurred the growth of rural education, leading to substantial and rapid economic development."
Simple: empower the average person and they will reach their full potential, improving all of society that's the absolute essence of socialism.
Just as excitingly, Han proves (yet again) that collectively-organized economies can be not just more stable than market-based economies, but even more dynamic. And let's not forget the increased social cohesion they also provide".
Thirdly, Han shows that the CR was a glorious affirmation and victory for the 2nd of the socialism's twin pillars (the first being redistribution of wealth, the second being redistribution of socio-political power). After all, a collective & redistributive economy simply cannot function properly without democratic empowerment of the overall culture and the political culture in favor of the average person / worker.
Ignore the Cultural Revolution" in order to keep pushing 1%-er neoliberal policies and failed 'trickle-down' economics
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