风萧萧_Frank
以文会友
To Make Possible from Impossible by Breaking the Shackles of Dogmatic
Frank (Hongde) Li, Waterloo, Canada; Mar. 1. 2008 Last revised Nov. 15 2011
http://frank-waterloo.blog.163.com/blog/static/205239029201262911453312/
1... Foreword
2... An ancient wisdom of China
3... Jack Layton
4... Masaru Ibuka
5... Keynes, Rooselt and Adam Smith
5.1. John Maynard Keynes
5.3. Adam Smith
6... Deng Xiaoping and China
6.1. The initiation of economic reform
6.3. The test zone for economic reform
7... Some essential elements contributed to the success of China
7.1. Official unified language – Mandarin
7.2. Rare poison of spiritual opium
7.3. The edification of Confucianism
8. Questioning political issue
9. Questioning business running
10. 世界最渴望的一场革命
The process of writing an article is like that of the process of the birth of a baby, there is a process of conception and growth. For having a smart baby that could satisfy both parents and public is not easy.
Years ago, for being first time, I was called as a grandpa by a small boy with the courtesy of showing respect for an elderly. Although I were friendly to respond him by gently shaking his little hand with smile, but, at that moment, the feeling of being called as grandpa was just as that of was shocking by thunderbolt. Even if from gradually changes of my face-skin, I were already aware that aging has degraded my facial elasticity and made it can no longer resist the gravity of the Earth. But I never thought of that I have entered the stage of closing to the hills of sunset of life. The feeling of somewhat desolation induced me to deeply review about the meaning of the life.
Why do we take a journey to this world?
What is the purpose of our being?
Everyone has beautiful ideal, but few could realize, what is the reason?
A lot of such thought that seem meaningful but also meaningless.
I heard that my nephew, the only son of my old sister, who married in my home country – the opposite side to Canada on Earth. I understood that my sister did not inform me in advance, was because of she did not want to see me to take long trip to attend the wedding with the cost in both time and money, although she was eagerly to meet me in face to face rather than that of talking on the phone. As normal sense & thinking, we both hope each other happier and less unhappy. So, on the phone, we both just talk about good, and not talk that of no good, we were both aware that point in secret. So, the worries for each other are always in mind. Maybe, this is the endless pain caused by the migration.
I have managed to make some compensation for being absent from the wedding. Besides, promised a certain a mount of Dollar as wedding gift in future; also I started the search of education methods for infants and early childhood. Since my nephew is smart both physical & mental, but not satisfied in education, it was not because any thing else except less paid attention on the study of my nephew since my sister & I were both busy on own job, we has been very sorry about that until now. So I prepare earlier for oncoming new generation.
Firstly, Mr. Masaru Ibuka entered my vision. Later, I amazedly found his greatest achievement was not that of well accepted prenatal education - a method that has made me admired very much, but was other more admirable one, a world class Company - Sony.
I wondered that why a person could make such achievements in completely different field in a limited lifetime. What were the reasons for his successes?
My vision expanded and the areas of the concern were also qualitatively advanced. My thinking was swimming in the river of the time, from the reality digging into the past, and then from the past returning back to the reality. I learnt that there were ordinary people who created an unordinary life, there were ideas that have achieved the effect of improved the world. Predecessors’ successes in life with non-formulaic thinking inspired me to have done much more searches and produced variety of considerations. Some of them came together to form this article.
I am clear that, the article is rough in both ideas and wording, and even some cited may be improper, since my poor English with a background that started to learn to say A,B,C with a stiff tongue as an adult. I have been wondering that whether it could be called as the article. Self-doubted, self-denied, self-affirmed, and then self-doubted again, delighted, enjoyed, and then depressed, perhaps they are all the spices to make the life enjoyable. Sooner or later the ugly kid has to face the world, so, I stop to revise it, and let it start to go to fulfill its mission with own life. Good or not, let others to comment.
Here, I would like to sincerely thank Don kilimnik who has owned and been running DC Foods Inc. – a foods processing enterprise for about 20 years with his friend – Rob together, in which spent the prime time of their life.
The reason needs some words to make clear.
I once wrote an article
In China, as a socialist society, the ideology of class struggle has faded, which was Karl Marx coined in hundred years ago. But in Canada, a capitalist society, it is still somewhat apparent; this point could be felt out from the phenomenon of antagonism between the employees and business owners.
The most obvious is that of Labor Unions, in today’s situation of government has been providing the comprehensive security of legal and social welfare, some of the demands of the Labor Unions seem to have beyond the bearing-capacity of the society. They seem acting as harming social justice with the name for justice. Even some union members, in the workplace, conduct a negative-supervising by intervening in people’s normal work. The behavior is not only would negatively affect the efficiency of the production, and also may induce negative psychological effect for both sides – employees and employers.
There a true story I experienced in Canada is worthy to mention.
There was a machine assemble Company with a Labor Union. I call it with pseudonym as DEF Company. Through a job agency I worked there with other 4 permanent and 1 temporary operators. My job was the installation of electrical wires and switches on the empty machine-case, and then the others to install the parts insides and to make final testing.
The people are very friendly in the work team. After one hour of my first day’s work, a gentleman friendly told me that: “please do not work too hard like this; you may go to washroom to have a rest, or go to other work station to talk with friends. Any way, you should slow down the work.” Then, I noticed that other people were talking and joking with a slow working.
Now, looking back the overall production efficiency at that time, in my work team, only reached about 50% of total production capacity, which means only finished about 3 machines with a capacity of finishing 6 machines per shift.
The DEF Company had occupied the top of the food chain with welcomed end-products that certainly has greater profit margins supported by an enviable team of skilled technicians and operators. It should be running better and sustainable. However, it was shut down years ago. The loss of more than 1,000 good paid job positions was not a trivial matter for a city about 100 thousands of population, besides local governors, it seemed no other people to have cared the negative impact for the local economy and the life of local people.
About half a year later after the DEF Company was shut down; in a supermarket, I met the gentleman who once advised me to work slowly. We were talks a while. At that time, he was looking for a new job after worked for a job agency a couple of months.
From all aspects of assessment, the gentleman is well self-cultivated showing very nice and friendly without flaws in personality. His attitude on work also is common in most of people universally. As unique means of production with emotion, human beings are born with weakness and strength. One of significant aspect in management is to good use of the strength and avoiding the weakness.
Management is a kind of art rather than a rigid technology, it provides a special stage for performing intelligent dramas, however, some of them may be enjoyable, and some may be not.
Such as, for the shutdown of the DEF Company, one of important reason might be unsatisfactory productivity that caused by that of payment was not associated with the working-performance, which was no different for operators who finished 3 machines or 6 machines in a shift. Obviously, this kind of payment method was acting as a cooler to cool down employees’ working-enthusiasm. It also was one of the reasons that had triggered the collapse of former socialist countries. So I once said that in other article, capitalist countries are following the dust of the road that socialist countries have been past.
The romance of payment and work-efficiency is a good topic for a good management drama.
Suppose that, in the DEF Company, takes 3 machines as basic task of a team per shift, after finished first 3 machines, the fourth one pays $6 to each operator as bonus, the fifth pays $9, the sixth pays $12. Thus would incent the operators to work with full-load. In this way, every day will make extra profits from three extra machines by only extra payment of $162 that may only a little bit compared with gained extra profits. If so, the Company would be still running, that gentleman might still work there with a better payment rather than that of anxious for job-looking.
Here, there a more detailed account can be calculated. When production without bonus, finished 3 machines per shift, suppose the profit margin is 20% after deduction of raw materials, wages, utilities and other basic costs. On this basis, for finishing extra 3 more machines, only need to increase the cost of raw materials and bonuses, then, the profit margins from extra 3 machines may be much higher than that of 20% of from first 3 machines. The bonus possesses magical effect that can satisfy both employees and employers at the same time.
An important step of the success of China's economic reform was have broken the old wage system that was continuation from that of the Soviet Union, and largely increased the share of payment that associated with individual’s work performance.
Some simple management measures could reduce the severity of the antagonism between employees and employers, and that will be good for all with reducing psychological stress in workplace, also can increase social wealth by improving the efficiency of production. That is the origin of that article.
There were some reasons that I took Dc Foods Inc. as an example in that article.
For the management measures, I most appreciated was their incentive method – Profit Sharing Program. The amount of Profit Shared was floating with the profit gained quarterly. Thus can reduce the interval between the employees and employers and increase the sense of identity. Also, it can encourage employees concern the efficiency of production and try to do their best willingly, thereby can reduce the head aching of employers.
For individual employee, I most appreciated was Ms. Monica – the Personnel Manager - who sings the
I noticed that Monica has made many improvements in personnel related management. Although, most her works are too trivial that even is not worth to mention, but, in the process of the business running, trivial problems would be appeared endlessly, and they may cause un-trivial result if not be found and solved timely. Those chores seem simple, but not easy to solve, need paid patient and creative thinking with brain-energy costing, not everyone would be able to do so, I mean that is not the ability of physical but the sense of mental. Only those who are using their full heart can do a perfect job.
Although, as an ordinary person, doing an ordinary job, Monica is no obvious different with us, but her ordinary efforts are reflecting her unordinary spirit. Great comes from the ordinary. So, here, I would like to say – I appreciate Monica.
Also, there are many other people and things have moved me. Such as:
The door of the–Freezer was hands-sealed by tissue paper to prevent the leaking of Refrigerant. Although I did not know who made it, but, one point is clear, it is a voluntary act of some individual without request or regulation. This kind of positive initiative spirit of employees is valuable and is what that Enterprise should pay attention to cultivate and encourage by rewards of spiritual and material, thus to establish a positive corporate culture to cultivate more initiative employees.
Rob – the Boss who often sent foods to lunchroom for the operators in evening shift, it also is too trivial to mention, but, the trivial act is reflecting his noble personality with kind heart. And that is significant and valuable.
Paul – the supervisor of sanitizing team, who was working on this position about 17 years, some time he did all the job when two operators absent. He has been hard working as ordinary operator besides taking the responsibility as supervisor.
Don – who was taking charge of sanitizing blending room, he moved the heavy blue bins of ice by hands with running, which I am afraid unable to move a inch. He is never illiberality of using physical force in work. I joked of him as 20 years old young man and should get double pay. He responds me with laugh loudly.
Jim & Art – the ordinary maintenance mechanics who always solve problems timely requested by me - an ordinary operator at the time when they were passing my workplace, some times I look for help from them. Such as, to fix the waterproof-seals on the power box of the machines and make some improvement on my water gun to increase the work efficiency.
If we view the world with a beautiful mind, the world will be beautiful with full of sunlight. If you view the work with a positive attitude, you will find many funs to relieve the feeling of fatigue in the hard work, especially when you full heart try to make a perfect job by trying to improve the operation and tools. I have said that in other articles, business is the common meal-bowl for all staff, which needs us all to cherish and make dedication for it.
As long as careful observation, we will be affected by those employees who are dedicating their faith into the ordinary job to make unordinary contribution.
It said that about 95% of business closed at their first several years. The running methods of business may be different, but, there one point must be same, that is, a smooth running business must have some faithful employees supporting it. Monica and those whom was mentioned above are a part of such employees for DC Foods Inc...
I thought to use real name in the article for those Companies I appreciated. So I have sought permission on one by one. Thus Don kilimnik had the chance to have read the article. Once, he specifically said to me that: “I appreciate your article”. At that moment, I am very happy, because of Don was a first Westerner who was not only understood but also has felt out my heart tremble from my article. His words have given me great encouragement. Since then, I dared show my writings to others, and like to write more in English.
It is said that, in the lifetime, every people would have the chance to encounter some people or some thing that may change the track of the life. For me, in Canada, Don kilimnik has acted as such a man with a simple words: “I appreciate your article.”
And for that, I would like to say: Don kilimnik, thank you very much.
Living on a same globe, by eating similar foods, in a similar life span, there was people dedicated his life to public service and social justice, dared laugh to death and to be upgraded state funeral, there was people run a business growing faster and to be world-class, there were people made themselves recognized economist and to be influential, there was people lead a backward country developing quickly and to be modernized. But most of others are busy as that of ant for essential living. Why is so different? The key may be that:
Whether a person dared break the common weakness of the people, which is tending to focus on the little interest at present rather than on the great potential in future, just focusing on the penny near sight rather than on the millions dollar far sight.
Whether a person dared break the common weakness of the people, which is to waste energy and time on snooping and spreading gossips rather than on self-updating in an Era of knowledge explosion.
The list could be made much longer. However, the decisive one must be that:
Whether a person dared break the shackles of dogmatic to act according to the judgment independently rather than blindly drift following the wind.
I am convinced that, if call those prominent people mentioned above as the Winner of life, no one would oppose, if call ourselves as the Loser of life, no one would object, too. Compared with the Winners, as same integrated both physical and mental, why did we achieve such a result? The reason may be that:
Because did not like to learn to be a coward, because of too coward to dared act aggressively, because dared not act aggressively to be seeing the chance of success slipping away from the gaps between the fingers, because has let the chance of success slipping away, that original splendid life we could be to be dimmed.
However, if say that we are the Winner of life, we would feel ashamed. If say that we did not work hard, we will feel grievance. Why does that happen? Perhaps we can only say, we really tried our hest, but by an improper way.
The story about Tiger Mother and her daughter may give us useful inspiration.
After writing an essay of the <Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.>, Yale law professor Amy Chua was hit hard with furious criticisms. Then, her 18 year old daughter Sophia who published <Why I love my strict Chinese mom> as response, following are the last paragraphs.
“There’s one more thing: I think the desire to live a meaningful life is universal. To some people, it’s working toward a goal. To others, it’s enjoying every minute of every day. So what does it really mean to live life to the fullest? Maybe striving to win a Nobel Prize and going skydiving are just two sides of the same coin. To me, it’s not about achievement or self-gratification. It’s about knowing that you’ve pushed yourself, body and mind, to the limits of your own potential. You feel it when you’re sprinting, and when the piano piece you’ve practiced for hours finally comes to life beneath your fingertips. You feel it when you encounter a life-changing idea, and when you do something on your own that you never thought you could. If I died tomorrow, I would die feeling I’ve lived my whole life at 110 percent.”
“And for that, Tiger Mom, thank you.”
I have noticed that，after this article was published, the comments of public for the educational methods of tiger mother are turning to positive from the negative in dominant. This proved that the article has aroused many people self-reflecting, reflecting the meaning of life. An 18-year-old girl，at the time she maintained the dignity of her mother and achieved the victory in the public opinion war, she also has advanced the philosophy of life for great many people. She has set up a most significant milestone for herself in the journey of life. And, more significant aftereffect will be that, the experience of success would fuel young girl more courage to drive her boldly toward much challenging future, and to leave more solid footprint in the journey of life. Great many successful stories have demonstrated that success or not of life depend on the courage and persevering.
No matter what do others think about, as my view, Amy Chua was successful in the children's education. It was not that, how many skills that she has forced her daughters to have grasped, but, it was that, through the process of the education, she has made her daughters to have enjoyed the joy from the successes after hard working bitterly, and to have made her daughters matured mentally not only physically. In which, made them understood that, what is the true meaning of life? What is the human living for? This point looks simple but significant for a wise life, it seems never be made clear by most of people in lifelong.
MRI dynamic scan has made clear that for human being each physical function are controlling by certain group of brain cells. Children are in the period of brain rapid development. External stimulating factors will affect the formation of the brain cells and brain structure, and then affect the behavior. The experiences of childhood will affect their behavior lifelong. Such as, suppose that parents allow their kids to enjoy the taste of drugs, the kids may grow into drug addicts. If parents make their kids taste the joy of success through hard working, the kids will attempt to try more success in future. Modern studies have made clear that psychological and physical is mutual influencing and promoting.
Compared with an 18-year-old girl, us, as the adults, who have gone or nearly gone through half of the journey of life, whether, should ask that, how much true life we have lived? Has it reached 50%? Whether, should reflect that, are we fully evolved as senior animals? Are we really matured intellectually? Or, whether, we are just acting as that of the walking corpses in marking life?
The life-goals decide the scope of the vision. The scope of the vision decides the size of the stage of life-performance. The size of the stage of life-performance decides the exertion of the value of life. The dogmatic-free thinking is the spiritual engine to drive us to play colorful dramas of life on the stage - A stage for brave people to play their enjoyed life-performance as much as they like.
As long as working toward a goal, we will have the chance to enjoy the joy from success. Some times, it only needs one more time of breathing for persevering and to step one more inch forward, we will be able to see the glory of the dawn of success.
Success is not as general recognized as that of determined by chance or fate, it is determined by the way of thinking. Every one has the opportunity to enjoy a life without regret.
Tang dynasty (618AD – 907AD) was most prosperous period in history of China. Even in today, the name of Chinatown is inherited from the name of the street where for the overseas people from Tang dynasty, although the most of Chinatown were established in very recent centuries rather then in Tang Dynasty at all.
The founder of Tang dynasty was Taizong who was an outstanding Emperor and was eagerly seeking the methods for ruling his Empire effectively. He even nominated the foreigners as senior governors, which is rare even in today.
Wei Zheng was one of his chancellors and known as outspoken. Some times, Taizong was provoked furiously by his forthright expostulation and even angered to threat to kill him. However, Wei never changed his character of integrity. Taizong appreciated his personality very much and wrote following comments to commemorate him after he died,.
“By taking glass as a mirror, we can dress neatly, by taking history as a mirror, we can foresee the rise and fall of a country; and by taking people as a mirror, we can discover the strengths & weaknesses of ourselves. Wei Zheng's death made me lost a mirror.”
In China, above remarks has been taken as aphorism for opening mind to humbly accept the advice of others to avoid falling into the trap of dogmatic. No one was born with knowledge; only those who are good at absorbing the wisdoms of others are able to be a sage.
Here I will take the deeds of some people and historical events as mirror to reflect the methods of breaking the shackles of dogmatic to make possible from impossible.
“We can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.”
“My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”
Above inspiring words are from the <last Letter to Canadians>. The letter was written by a man with his last energy of life after suffered the torture of cancer, in a time when he felt that his life might be not able to continue, in a time just two days before his fruitful brain stop thinking forever.
The man once lived with us in Canada until months ago. He was Jack Layton, the Leader of NDP, who dedicated his life to public service, steadfastly advocated social justice, and took his political party from just 13 seats to 103 seats in Canada’s Parliament as the first time historically. His achievements are admirable. However, more admirable is his positive attitude to death.
The reason I say so is because that, in a cancer-weakened physical, facing imminent death, Jack Layton was able to have such a calm mood, with valuable last time of the life, he was thinking, not fear or sadness for the coming of death, not regretting for the death at the peak of the political career, not as most of others would be, but still managed his cancer-weakened mind to think, to think about a better Canada.
The <last Letter to Canadians> should be called as brilliant Curtain Call Words of the life of Jack Layton. Facing in sight of death, the letter was written with full of love and optimistic. The most horrible things for human life, nothing can exceed the death. However, Jack Layton could laugh to it. Few people could reach such a realm of life. He made us learnt that why the great people is great, and the ordinary people is ordinary.
The expressions in the <last Letter to Canadians> demonstrated that Jack Layton truly loved Canada, truly loved Canadians. It demonstrated that Jack Layton was a person that the speeches and the deeds were same constantly. Nowadays’ world is filled with falsehoods and frauds, people are living with the doubts and worries. Jack Layton let us to have enjoyed the faith in faithless and the hope in hopeless.
No doubt that the <last Letter to Canadians> further made the life of Jack Layton consummated.
His lofty personality and extraordinary perseverance with full heart loved Canada has aroused great many people missing him. The people were from every corner of the world immigrated into Canada, they are in different races, different features, different mother language, different cultural background, and the views for the value of life may be different, too, but the mood of mourning was similar.
He has gotten great many praises and to be upgraded to solemn state funeral.
“People were inherent in a death, or weightier than that of a mountain, or lighter than that of a feather.”
Above words were written in two thousands years ago by Sima Qian, a famous historian, writer and thinker of China. He reviewed the deeds of more than ten thousands people from his Era to thousand years ago China, and to have written famous <Records of the Grand Historian>. Perhaps it was that he learnt too much about the birth & death, the beauty & ugliness of the life, so that he gained unique understanding for the life. So that he was able to have made such a touching-soul comments about death. It certainly includes the value of life.
Obviously, the death of Jack Layton was qualified as Sima Qian praised as weightier than that of a mountain.
Lived up to such a life, are there any other desire can be beautiful than this?
In physical, Jack Layton did not have much different with us; he was an ordinary-person also. However, his mind of “Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done” without dogmatic thinking had advanced him as an unordinary ordinary-person. The way of unordinary thinking made him achieved an unordinary life. That is the difference with us.
Jack Layton, a great soul, who pushed himself, body and mind, to the limits, and lived great, died also great. His spirit will be acting as the lighthouse of soul to illuminate the road of life for us.
Please dump the dogmas into the garbage bin right away. “Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.” Thus, we might be able to reach a better future for all Canadians and to be able to enjoy modern civilization with a civilized manner.
Masaru Ibuka who was one of the founders of Sony and made it outstanding due to he dared break the dogmatic restraints to make possible from impossible.
In the early 1950s, the Bell Labs invented the transistor. At that time no one realized its commercial value, so there were no buyers. However, Masaru Ibuka has foreseen its commercial value with his unique perspective to have convinced the Department of Science and Technology of Japan, and borrowed $20,000 US dollars (an astronomical figure at that time) from his father to convince Bell to have licensed the transistor technology to his Company in Japan. Later Sony made the first portable transistor radios.
Until he have bought the transistor technology, there was still no one understood the significance of the deal and even thought him as a black sheep of his family. However, after Sony marketed the portable radios and was welcomed world-widely in 1957. All businessmen realized the huge commercial value of the transistor, but it was too late, because Sony had made possible from impossible and occupied the commanding height of the market already.
Why Masaru Ibuka succeeded in the commercialization of transistors among so many others are still in the state of suspicion and observation, this is because most of businessmen are vulnerable fallen into the dogmatic traps. Their thinking is vulnerable shackled by the existing conclusions, especially from some experts. Their understanding of things is often from the theories or experiences those firstly occupied in their mind rather than from the actual circumstances they are facing, which reversed the normal sequence of their cognition. So that they could not properly deal with new things and certainly could not think of making money by using a new invention - transistor. Although they knew the Tube Radio but they could not think of replacing the Vacuum Tube by Transistors to make it portable and save energy.
They have acted themselves as sitting in the well. In their eyes, the expanse of the sky to be bounded by the well’s mouth and the field of their vision was limited; thereby they could not make a proper decision due to lost the essential references from extensive observation. The more serious is that they lost the capability of imagination and foresight to do attempt boldly. It is just like that the tussahs are bundled in self-made silk.
As a man who born to be full of foresight and courage, Masaru Ibuka was not only dared think also dared act. He was not only to run Sony outstanding but also made other achievements in the crossing disciplines. Such as, he proposed the concept of baby’s education should be started at zero years old to improve the intellectual level through stimulating the development of fetal brain. Now his idea is accepted by the people world-widely. Here were some of his publications.
1.《Kindergarten Is Too Late》1971.
2.《Starting at the Age of Zero-Advice for Mothers on Good Education》1976，
3.《Why is the First Year (The Zero Year) So Important?》1989。
Years ago, I once read a remark of a famous Japanese entrepreneur, it said that among the 10 members of the Board of Directors, suppose that there two members were suggestion of a product should be developed, then develop it immediately. If there 8 members were aware of a product should be developed, please never develop it, which was because of most of ordinary people have learnt that already, it was too late to start due to that once the product put into market would face hot competing.
From above smart actions, we can understand the reason that Japanese products are leading the world for decades, for example, household electrical appliances and automobiles.
Another example of the harm of Dogmatism is the formation of the Cold War. It started at the end of World War II, in which some people have viewed the relation of Socialism and Capitalism as that of water and fire, if the one exists, the other one must disappear. They never think of that takes the both advantages to make up both shortcomings because that those policy maker could only look for ready-made doctrines that can be copied easily, but there was no ability and courage to design new solutions according to the actual circumstances.
In the socialist camp, those who believed themselves as faithful successors of Marxist had implemented the theory of Marxism dogmatically by carrying out the public ownership and planned economy strictly and ignored the Dialectical Materialism of Karl Marx to deal with the practical problems in accordance with actual circumstances. Although in the later period, in some socialist countries, the economic policies had some fluctuation, but the mainstream was so.
In the capitalist camp, the degree of fluctuations between the states intervene economy and laissez faire capitalism seems somewhat severity.
In <The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money> (<General Theory>), John Maynard Keynes (Keynes) has introduced the planned economy into the free market economy of Adam Smith.
Keynesian theory helped the United States to have gotten out of the Great Depression and refreshed the economic strength, thereby to accelerate the end of World War II. But after decades of development, there some new economic problems were emerged and accumulated up again. Then United States and Britain took the new reforms by reducing the share of planned economy under the lead of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
In Britain, the home county of Keynes and Adam Smith has suffered the processes from original private ownership to be nationalized, and then from state-owned ownership to be privatized again. As a veteran of the capitalist countries, although, in the stage of nationalized, the United Kingdom should belong to the socialist country, however, it seemed no one to doubt its nature of capitalism until now.
They have early established a social welfare system that seems a part of the communist society. However, things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme. Abundant social welfare seems to have bred people to love ease and detest work; idleness can deplete any amount of fortune. Once to be envied social welfare now is developed too heavy to burden. Current Prime Minister David Cameron is wisely ongoing new reforms to save Britain by cutting down the public expenditure, including the social welfare.
Many facts have showed that some of politicians were acting as dogmatists, only follow outdated doctrine or the old ruts from one extreme to another, and can not flexibly adjust the direction according to the practical circumstances.
Here, there is necessary to talk a little more about Keynes because he was less dogmatic thinking with the spirit of bold questioning - why and how to fight against outdated doctrines, it could help us to advance the way of thinking, and avoid to fall into the trap of dogmatism, it is the prerequisite to do any thing correctly.
“Keynes is widely considered to be the father of modern macroeconomics.”
“In 1999, Time magazine included Keynes in their list of the 100 most important and influential people of the 20th century, commenting that; "His radical idea that governments should spend money they don't have may have saved capitalism.”
In the annual American Economic Association meetings 1999, Keynes won the greatest economist of the 20th century. Because that he “revolutionized the economics profession by contending that the free-market economy is inherently unstable and requires government intervention (through deficit spending, progressive taxation and monetary inflation) to keep it on the path of full employment.”
There is a comment in Mandarin on a Website of China, said that, Western capitalist countries have taken Keynesian macro economics as a general policy. The history has stepped into the Keynesian era. The macroeconomics created by Keynes has developed into an independent discipline. Moreover, Keynes also contributed to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
However, many people have questioned that Keynes did not contribute to the Roosevelt’s New Deal, because of his <General Theory> published in 1936, at that time, the New Deal has primarily saved the economy already. If we go on this way of thinking, it was that seems the achievements of New Deal to have fully contributed to the <General Theory>. Therefore, Keynes was certainly a copycat that is not only lack of talent, but also lack of moral.
This phenomenon also shows that people are accustomed going into the dogmatic trap. They can only see the surface of things, but can not make deep research into the substances.
I firmly believed that although Keynes had no direct suggestion for New Deal, however, he was the father of New Deal actually. The reason is that long before the New Deal put into practice, he had put forward the recommendations that Government should intervene in economy. Such as:
In 1919 in <Economic Consequences of the Peace> he started to publish his theories.
In 1924 in <Monetary Reform> he advocated the Government to control the economy by currency, which was through suitable inflation to stabilize prices and production levels.
In 1926 he published <The end of laissez-faire> to have publicly rejected the Laissez-faire principle for the free market. His view should be considered as theoretical foundation of New Deal in some extent, especially ideological preparation.
In 1929 he suggested British Liberal Party to run the election campaign by advocating the government-run public works (such as, roads, residential construction, the implementation of electrification, land reclamation, etc.) to overcome the problem in unemployment.
In 1930, in <Treatise on money> he proposed to control the economy by regulating the interest rates.
His above ideas were partially appeared in New Deal.
In my view, the greatest contribution of Keynes was not the <General Theory> but <The end of laissez-faire> (
In past 154 yeas before New Deal, the market was controlled by Invisible Hand that advocated by Adam Smith in his famous book <The Wealth of Nations> published in 1776 firstly. This doctrine has been strongly advocated by some interest groups under greedy purpose, the government had to have abandoned the effective regulation on market. Laissez-faire market has led to many insurmountable economical problems. In this context, Keynes wrote <The End>.
Now, let us join with the Keynes to experience his anxious concern that happened in so far away but feel as happened in yesterday by reading some of his comments in <The End>.
“These many elements have contributed to the current intellectual bias, the mental make-up, the orthodoxy of the day. The compelling force of many of the original reasons has disappeared but, as usual, the vitality of the conclusions outlasts them. To suggest social action for the public good to the City of London is like discussing the Origin of Species with a bishop sixty years ago. The first reaction is not intellectual, but moral. An orthodoxy is in question, and the more persuasive the arguments the graver the offence. Nevertheless, venturing into the den of the lethargic monster, at any rate I have traced his claims and pedigree so as to show that he has ruled over us rather by hereditary right than by personal merit.”
“The average man averts his attention from the problem, and has no clear idea what he really thinks and feels about the whole confounded matter.” “Confusion of thought and feeling leads to confusion of speech.”
Above, Keynes pointed out the absurd phenomena in 80 years ago, the public were being impacted by something without reasonable ground or something that legitimacy have been lost long time ago.
Clearly, the intention of Keynes was toward broad scope beyond economics. In fact, it still is the common phenomenon even more severe in today, in the 80 years later. Please look around, there are many things have lost the real reasons of existence, the reasons have solemnly entered their graves after completed their missions in long time ago, but they are still alive and still a strong influence on our daily life, or even determine our destiny. For example, today, the original motivations of some constitutions’ establishing were gone away for a long time, and the objective circumstances for making those constitutions have entirely changed already, however, those constitutions have still been used to suppress public will and even harm public interest without any modification.
We should question that whether we are too ignorant or stupid, so that we honestly accepts the control of some thing died already. Why do those dead doctrines not rot and still alive triumphantly? How do their vitality being well maintained? The only reason is that some people need them and continue to make them in fancy-dressing to deceive us believing those doctrines still alive. All in all, although the lives of those doctrines had long been ended, but they can not sleep in their grave as they should be. They are being used to control public, both spiritual and material with achieving the conspiring objectives of the small group people.
Although the
It is absolutely not. Today, the development of economy has far exceeded the expectations of Keynes. Compared with that of in 1930, the volume of world economy and stock market has increased great many times with many uncontrollable and although are controllable but not well controlled factors are acting as terrible specter in harming with the economy.
On the other hand, the instruments of Government intervention in the economy proposed by Keynes was mainly by guidance and stimulus without the restrictions, it is not enough for the unreasonable components in nowadays market, such as, huge amount of international hot money that was considered to had triggered 1997 Asian financial crisis, and the newly developed irrational financial instruments – derivatives that was considered to be an important trigger of the Financial Crisis of 2007–2010. They are the terrible threats to trigger more economic disaster and are what we must properly regulate but hardly strive in today.
Although Keynes did not left formulas that are suitable for solving the problems in today’s economy, but he left us with a universal formula that is his most shining part of his thought – the shining core, a core that implied but clearly being indicated in
Keynes’ spirit of doubt and question against old doctrines possesses universal significance. Only after breaking the shackles of traditional, the wings of imagination could be expanded to fly freely in the expanse of the sky. Only after breaking the constraint of dogmatism, the gate of free thinking could be opened; the effective solutions would be produced and any thorny problems could be solved at present and in future.
The progress of human civilization in the wealth of ideological and spiritual is important than that of in the wealth of material. Without the guidance of the correct philosophy, human being would never be able to enjoy true material civilization. Human would never get rid of the fatuity or the nature of the beast, looting and killing, endlessly making the disasters with advanced skill to do these indirectly in bloodless but more powerful. Therefore, in
Keynes is very different with us ordinary people. He is sober and methodical when most of us are drowsy or panic. He has seemed to stand on the height of three-dimensional with the eyes as eagle’s to observe us who like ants to strive for essential daily livings, even fighting each other in a two-dimensional world. His main concern was how to protect us to be able to long-term enjoy life without disturbing.
Compared with Keynes, we would be aware the reason, the reasons that we are just blindly being believed rather than brainy self-convinced, the reason that we always blindly follow others and being manipulated, the reason that we can not control self destiny, and always act as a victim exposed to the front of any disasters that most of them were man-made.
Keynes might have foreseen that the market running under entirely free does not work, sooner or later would make trouble. When people are still scheming, with a variety of sounds reasonable grounds to maintain the free market economy, Keynes had prepared ahead. He was doing preparation in public ideology. Perhaps because of his early thoughts on the government intervention of the economy was not being ideally implemented, or there are necessary to intensify. Because he was clearly aware that, in the most of cases, for doing some things, the greatest resistance comes from the public conservative consciousness, from the shackles of traditional，blind faith, blind worship, blind superstition and some dogmatic bias. The most difficult task firstly is to break down those bondages. Therefore, it is the choice that should do or should not do? Dared do or dared not do? It is the why rather than the how. It is just like Keynes indicated in the last paragraph, “The next step forward must come, not from political agitation or premature experiments, but from thought.”
The review for Keynes will stop here. You may ask that what the contribution of President Roosevelt is? So next I must clarify the relationship between him and Keynes.
No one would doubt that, as a politician, Roosevelt was excellent. He dared bravely intervene in the economy with state apparatus by taking the risk of breaking the iron rule that Government should not intervene in economy, which was his predecessors strictly adhered. The success of New Deal has showed that he was outstanding in personality. His relationship with Keynes, I think, should be that, Keynes put forward a rough idea of Government should intervene in the economy, then Roosevelt and his copartners to make the vision into action. Also they made some expansion and refinement according to the actual problems that were continuously emerging. In turn, their successful experiences from practical trial and error gave Keynes inspiration to make his macroeconomics perfect.
Maybe you would continuously ask that why does people so respect Keynes. This needs to review Adam Smith.
Adam Smith. A British economist who wrote <The Wealth of Nations> in 1776 to advocate that by the Invisible Hand - the free market managing the economy, and give up the visible hand of government intervention. His doctrine has been touted as the economic Bible for more than one hundred years. Although it has caused many insurmountable economic problems, but there was no one doubted its correctness and dared break the dogma.
It was Keynes not only appealed that laissez-faire should be ended, but also provided useful financial instruments to have saved economy.
Here, I think that there are necessary to talk a little more about Invisible Hand.
It said that was Rothschild banking family of England to have persuaded and funded Adam Smith to write
Some scholars have questioned the understanding for Invisible Hand. Among them, there is a most powerful questioner, Emma Georgina Rothschild who is a descendant of the Rothschild banking family, a British economic historian and a professor of Harvard University. In 2001, She published <Economic sentiments: Adam Smith, Condorcet and the Enlightenment> to question the understanding for Invisible Hand. In the paragraph of
“The Invisible Hand of Jupiter”
“Adam Smith's ideas have had odd secular destinies, and the twentieth century was the epoch of the invisible hand." the profoundest observation of smith," for Kenneth Arrow, is "that the system works behind the backs of the participants; the directing 'hand' is 'invisible' "For Arrow and Frank Hahn, the invisible hand is "surely the most important contribution [of] economic thought" to the understanding of social process; for James Tobin, it is "one of the great ideas of history and one of the most influential." 'The object of this chapter is to look at the intellectual history of the invisible hand, and to put forward a view of what Adam Smith himself understood by it. What I suggest is that Smith did not especially esteem the invisible hand. The image of the invisible hand is best interpreted as a mildly ironic joke. The evidence for this interpretation, as well be seen, raises interesting questions both about Smith and about the invisible hands of the twentieth century.”
Another questioner is Gavin Kennedy who is a retired professor of business history and the history of economics, now is a prolific blogger. His central topic is Adam Smith’s “lost legacy”, on which he has written two books. His Blog has focused on the misuses of the metaphor of “the invisible hand”. He has questioned that Smith used the metaphor 3 times, but only once was in
June 21, 2010, on the Website of Adask's law, there is a post <The Real Father of Modern Economics> said that, “Where Smith advocated a “free market” wherein each individual’s “self-interest” would result in “benefit” to all, our current markets are manipulated and their “benefits” are primarily reserved for a few “insiders” rather than the nation at large. Smith advocated “natural liberty”; today’s economics push for debtor bondage. Smith’s classical (moral) economics promoted The Wealth of Nations; today’s monetary economics promotes The Wealth of Special Interests (or perhaps, The Wealth of Bankers).” The writer indicated that “the “father” of today’s monetary economics” is “Mayer Amschel Rothschild (A.D. 1743-1812), the founder of the Rothschild fortune and dynasty that controls much of the world’s economy to this day.”
From above comments, we may understand that appealed to control the economy by the Invisible Hand instead of regulation of Government was not the original intention of Adam Smith but intended advocated by interest individual or group for removing the barrier of their looting social wealth. Although, the thought of Keynes that Government intervenes in the economy has applied widely, however, the Invisible Hand is still misused widely, too. Because there are no enough regulations to restricting to those greedy people who are protected by the umbrella of Invisible Hand, so that caused the disaster of Financial Crisis of 2007–2010, and will be to gestate more disasters inevitably.
Since the occurrence of Financial Crisis of 2007–2010, people began to doubt the free market. April 6, 2011, a report that <Sharp Drop in American Enthusiasm for Free Market, Poll Shows> said that “The findings, drawn from 12,884 interviews across 25 countries, show that there has been a sharp fall in the number of Americans who think that the free market economy is the best economic system for the future.” “Americans with incomes below $20,000 were particularly likely to have lost faith in the free market over the past year, with their support dropping from 76 per cent to 44 per cent between 2009 and 2010. American women have also become much less positive, with 52 per cent backing the free market in 2010, down from 73 per cent in 2009.”
Contrasted sharply, people around the world renewed emphasis on Marx's thought, especially in Marx's home country Germany. In 20 October 2008, a paper <Marx popular amid credit crunch> reported that Karl Marx's <Das Kapital> that published in 1867 now is back in fashion. Says one German publisher, who attributes his new popularity to the economic crisis. “German media have reported that bookstores nationwide have seen a 300% increase in sales of the book in recent months.”
The results on the view of free market are a new proof of some people seems accustomed to fall into the trap of dogmatism without the dialectical sense in the observation of things – that is that there are two sides to everything; the Invisible Hand certainly has its rational part and irrational part. We must be good use of its rational part and avoiding the harm of its irrational part. In the practice of intervening in the economy, the different components of the market should be treated differently. For the traditional manufacturing sector, we should implement fully liberalized market to be controlled by Invisible Hand, through the price to regulate the production automatically. For the financial sector, it can not be taken as complete free market. Especially, the international hot money should be identified and banned because it is playing a role of advanced bandits in modern society and the financial derivatives should be strictly controlled by the Visible Hand. The occurrence of the Financial Crisis of 2007–2010 was certainly not the guilty of the Invisible Hand, it was the guilty of governors because of they did not well regulate the part of the market that must be regulated.
There is a question worth pondering, which is that Adam Smith requested to burn his manuscripts when his life went into critical state. Some people have guessed that, may be it was that Adam Smith thought his writings were too mean to consistent with his personal morality, even a proof of <The Wealth of Nations> were written under the force of others.
Above photo appeared in most of articles that introduce the Great Depression. Anxious mother and her hunger children have been demonstrating the tragic reality of the man-made disaster. Every time I saw it, I could not help but was full of tears in my eyes with wondering that whether the mother and her children survived through the difficult years. I think that it is a powerful proof of the sin caused by the irrational part of Invisible Hand. The tragedy showed in the photo might have been foreseen by Keynes and encouraged him to write <The End>. Also it might had been foreseen by Adam Smith, thereby induced him to have requested to burn his manuscripts when he was ready to return to the eternal.
The topic about Keynes and Adam Smith will stop here. You may think that many of the comments seem to have deviated from the main topic; however, I think that is necessary. A successful conduct of individuals or enterprises must meet the moral standards of public consensus. Otherwise, even if they could make possible from impossible, the results may not be acceptable socially.
6. Deng Xiaoping and Economic reform of China.
For facilitating the understanding to that of I am going to discuss, I think that, there is necessary to review the reflection of former Russian President Vladimir Putin on Russia's ridiculous experience in their socialist period.
In Dec. 30, 1999, Vladimir Putin made a speaking of
“For almost three-fourths of the outgoing century Russia lived under the sign of the implementation of the communist doctrine. It would be a mistake not to see and, even more so, to deny the unquestionable achievements of those times. But it would be an even bigger mistake not to realize the outrageous price our country and its people had to pay for that Bolshevist experiment. What is more, /it would be a mistake/ not to understand its historic futility. Communism and the power of Soviets did not make Russia a prosperous country with a dynamically developing society and free people. Communism vividly demonstrated its inaptitude for sound self-development, dooming our country to a steady lag behind economically advanced countries. It was a road to a blind alley, which is far away from the mainstream of civilisation.”
As same as other socialist countries in former socialist camp, the experience of China is similar to that of Soviet Union. For almost three-fourths of the last century, China lived under the sign of the implementation of the communist doctrine. The dogmatists have directed many ridiculous farces with a little knowledge about the theory of Karl Marx without grasping the living soul of Marxism, which is to make a concrete analysis for specific situations, to solve specific problem by specific solution.
Now please go forward to read below. From the stories, in bit by bit, to feel the great of Deng Xiaoping as a great man, and to share the sorrow of the sadness and the joy of the happiness from the ordinary narrative and the ordinary comments of me as an ordinary man.
There were many reports about economic achievements of China; however most of them were looking at the appearances rather than dug into the substance in the level of philosophy. Such as that, the most of daily goods worldwide are made in China, and that China has made economic miracle, but no one answered about that why did it happen?
Ezra F. Vogel, the Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus at Harvard University, who cost about 10 years, visited many key figure and historical sites, mastered informative first-hand information, to have written < Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China> that published in 2011. In the book, he indicated that Deng’s formula for success was simple: “Don’t argue; try it. If it works, let it spread.” I think this is the best understanding for the success of the economic reform in China. It certainly possesses universal significance.
“Don’t argue; try it. If it works, let it spread.” Whether the statement look, or sound is all very simple, but, it is hard to do so at the time of beginning of economic reform in China,
Firstly, that “Don’t argue” was impossible, because argue is the job or hobby of some people. If some of the socialist dogmatists considered something beyond the boundaries of socialism, even if "It works", they would not "let it spread." The aftereffect for the proposal providers or practitioners would be more than just argue, but a severe punishment. The creed of those dogmatists is: that would rather keep the socialist weed, but never adopt the capitalist seedling. In fact, the process of China’s economic reform was the process that broke the dogmatic shackles regarding the road of Socialism and Capitalism; it was called as political struggle of the two-line, and was considered as involved in alive or death of China.
That being the case seriously, then, how that China did broke the dogmatic shackle to make possible from impossible. Here I’d like to try to discuss it with some practical experiences of China.
At the beginning of China’s economic reform in three decades ago, most politicians and sociologists have objected strongly according to their dogmatic understanding for Socialism, Capitalism and Marxism.
Deng Xiaoping, an outstanding top leader in economic reform of China, he repulsed the useless dogmatic arguments with patient explanation that whether the share of planned economy is a little bit more or the share of market economy is a little bit more, it is not the essential difference for Socialism and Capitalism. That planned economy is not equivalent to Socialism, Capitalism also has plan, and market economy is not equivalent to Capitalism, Socialism also has market. The plan and the market are only the economic means that can help to develop economy.
He indicated that, if China does not reform to develop economy for improving the living of the people, any road would be a dead end. Poverty does not belong to Socialism. We need to build Socialist society with unique feature of China.
In China, officially called Deng Xiaoping as the chief architect of China's reform and opening up, however, Professor Ezra F. Vogel's findings were contrary. He calls Deng “the general manager” of China’s latest revolution. Due to that Deng was careful not to get out in front of the economic reform, but used younger officials such as Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang for that. Even he did not involve in the decision-making to launch market-oriented special economic zones for capitalist-style experimentation.
In my view, in the process of China’s economic reform, the role of Deng Xiaoping is much significant than that of as a chief architect. As one of highest political leader with no dogmatic mind, Deng’s role was just as Bulldozers or Icebreaker to have successful excluded resistances for economic reform. I can say with certainty that, China, as a feudal imperial ideology deeply rooted country, if there was no strong political authority as Deng Xiaoping, the economic reform would never be able to achieve the outcomes today. Deng’s unique role, no one could replace.
Now, looking back the course of China’s economic reform, it had no previous theories or references in model or framework, there was no any prior design at all. It was just as Deng Xiaoping said: Wading across an unfamiliar river by feeling the rocks on the bottom of the river. It meant that the process of economic development was continuously adjusting the policy or direction according to the problems that emerged in the practice.
6.1. The initiation of economic reform
The proposals for the economic reform proposed one after another mainly from the grassroots, the ordinary people or Governors who were working in local Governments according to their personal experiences from the social root and approved by top Governors who were foresight without dogmatic mind and dared take the political risk personally, such as, Hu Yaobang, Zhao Ziyang and Deng Xiaoping, they played decisive role at different historical period. Then implemented from point to line and from the line to area, step by step, avoided big social shake that happened in many other former socialist countries. Follow is an example.
September 1977, Hu Fuming, an associate professor at the Philosophy Department at Nanking University of China, who wrote a paper < Practice Is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth> to criticize the prevalent of Dogmatism. It challenged the absurd dogmatic argument of "two whatever" (which refers to the statements that "we will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave").”
However, at the start, no one dared publish it. Until 8 months later, in May 10, 1978, it was published after personal validation of Hu Yaobang who was the executive director of Central School of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Hu was one of the few outstanding top leaders in promoting economic reform of China. He was always solving the problem depending on the actual circumstances without dogmatic mind.
The paper was suffered strong criticize. It was condemned as “absurd in theory, reactionary in ideology, and the intention was to cut down the red flag of China.” Obviously, those dogmatists have neither talent nor morality because they never study to improve them selves. They are always making irrational response for any sound. They are born of persecuting with full energy against the people of integrity. The only fear for them is the peace of the world. This was the reason that Deng Xiaoping was ousted from his political position 3 times in his life long. The writer Hu Fuming himself has prepared into jail. As a socially responsible scholar, he learnt that social progress need brave person to sacrifice for it, even with the life.
Fortunately, in June 2, 1978, on a meeting, Deng Xiaoping publicly supported the view of the paper of Hu Fuming and severely criticized the dogmatism. He called to liberate the thoughts by breaking the spiritual shackles of Dogmatic. In December 1978, on the third Session of the Eleventh Plenary Meeting of CPC, the event of discussion regarding the criterion of truth was being highly valued. It has further eliminated the dogmatic poison regarding the Socialism and Capitalism.
“The article gave rise to a nationwide "Debate on Standards for Judging the Truth".” In a large extent reduced the poison of Dogmatism, and “ushered China into an era of reform and opening up.”
There was a paper that praises the contribution of the article of Hu Fuming, the title was <An article influences Chinese history>.
Before economic reform, China was a socialist society of public ownership and planned economy based on the guiding ideology from the theory of Marxism-Leninism. In deed, the dogmatic arguments related with the road of Socialist or Capitalist were never stop since the establishment of P. R. China in 1949. There were always some people to look at the tiny buds of Capitalism with a magnifying glass to disroot it.
In 1962’s China, there were some rural areas in response to famine and natural disasters, spontaneously generated some flexible production models without touching the bottom-line of the state-owned ownership. Such as, one of them was that took each family’s members as one production unit contracted to take the responsibility for a certain area of farmland to solve the thorny problems that some people did not work well when team-working in the production unit that the members were mixed together from different families. The selfish nature of mankind is inevitable; the key is how to well control it, how to turn the shortcoming to the strongpoint. Those new emerged production models were able to play this kind of role. They should have been a good thing with the function of improving the production efficiency, but were strictly prohibited by some dogmatists.
Only Deng Xiaoping supported them with his famous Cat Theory: “It doesn't matter whether a cat is white or black, as long as it catches mice.” In other words, he did not worry too much about whether a production model was capitalism or socialism as long as it can improve the production efficiency. This was obviously a sensible comment, but, it became main reason that he was purged from his political poison first time. However, Mr. Deng laughed finally in decades later with the success of the economic reform under his way.
Before economic reform, there were a lot of people from China illegally went into Hong Kong to be captured and sent back by the police of Hong Kong, then they went back and were sent back, thus recycling. Those illegal immigrants were considered as traitors to be rudely treated.
Many illegal immigrants drown in the Gulf between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Made me tearful is that, until now, no accurate statistics of how many people have made the sacrifice to the Gulf by their lives on the way swimming toward a dreamed place where they might get a better life.
Here, I think of the stories of East Germans fled into West Germany risked their lives over the Berlin Wall during the period of Cold War, especially a 77-year-old lady who was attempting to jump to West Germany from a building of East Germany near the Berlin Wall, however, when she saw the height where she was standing, she was immediately scared of paralyzed sitting on the floor, but when she heard the sound of policemen was breaking the door behind her, she immediately stood up and jumped down toward West Germany.
Flight roads were imprinted with blood, Shenzhen was as so. East Germany was as similar. What was the reason to have forced those people on this dead road?
The reason was very simple: it was the poor.
People are senior animals that can create wealth positively. However, those socialist dogmatic politicians restricted them to do so by insisting on the backward model of economical and production. Poor forced some brave people to seek a better life through illegal immigration by venturing in the risk.
6.3. The test zone for economic reform
November 1977, when the leaders of Guangdong province were uneasily waiting for the instructions after they had reported to Deng Xiaoping about the event of more and more people fled to Hong Kong. Deng Xiaoping has been remarkably silent a while. He continuously smoked a couple of cigarettes, then slowly turned himself and calmly said that: "This caused by our improper policy and it could not be controlled by force." Deng Xiaoping stressed the significance of developing economy: only the life of the people improved, we can solve this problem. We must change the poor situation even on a blood road. His ambitious determination had further broken the shackles of the dogmatism regarding socialism that insisted on planned economy.
In 1980, Shenzhen, a small poor city closed to Hong Kong, with 300 thousand people, was set as a test zone for economic reform by central government through approved an application of Guangdong province, without any financial support besides the permission of making local policies independently:
1. Development based on absorbing foreign funds.
2. The economic models are Sino-foreign joint ventures, cooperative ventures and solely-foreign-oriented.
3. Products export-dominated.
4. Economic activities are market-regulated under the guidance of national plan.
At the same time, for the foreign investment in the test zone, provide special offers and conveniences in taxation, immigration employment and so on. The management model could be different from that of domestic. They may have greater power of autonomy following the international practice to tie closely to the international market.
Only several years, Shenzhen was developed as a modern city. Then the central government copied the experiences to another 14 coastal cities, and then much more.
A lot of people entered Shenzhen to seek opportunities from Hong Kong after the start of economic reform. At the end of 2006, there were more than 8.46 millions people in Shenzhen city; there more than one million were from Hong Kong among them. Now, the people in main land China are easily into Hong Kong legally no one illegally any more, which was pre-indicated by Deng Xiaoping.
Before disintegration of Soviet Union, a Russian governor who once visited Shenzhen and was impacted by that what he saw about the extensive economic reforms, which were totally contrary to the theory of Marxism and the socialist road that was insisting strictly by the countries in the international socialist camp, which supervised by the force of former Soviet Union. He talked to the top Governor of Shenzhen with somewhat scare: “you have placed your certificate of party member and even your head on shoulder to bet on economic reforms”. From the talks we would learn the political risk that was taking by those governors who were directing economic reforms.
From the perspective of today we would feel the absurdity that experienced in socialist countries. Those dogmatists who dogmatically comprehended the socialism, with good wish, but wrong way to have caused harm to human society. Today, although the socialist camp basically collapsed, but dogmatism did not go into its grave, it still widespread and endanger human society.
Apr 25, 2011 10:10 am EDT, there was a report on the website of Reuters <Analysis: Shandong postcard: big changes sweep rural China>. It described the new scene in rural area of China currently. “Nationwide, per capita rural incomes after inflation rose 14.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, double the increase in urban disposable income, thanks to higher farm prices and bigger remittances by migrant workers.”
World Bank reported that, in the past 25 years, the achievements in poverty reduction, there 67% were attributed to China.
It is a proven fact that economic reform of China was correct. China’s success in economic development in step by step has avoided mass bleeding that had happened in many other socialist countries during social political and economical transformation.
China's current economic model has mixed with the both models of Socialism and Capitalism, which good applied the both advantages from the planned economy and the market economy. The current economy is controlling by two kinds of hands, visible and invisible. The economic theory is a mixture from Marxism, Adam Smith, Keynesian and others. This is the why that China has been making economic miracle in decades, while other former socialist countries had fell into long-term languishing due to changed their political and economical system in a very short time without any preparation in advance. Only China outshines all of the others.
Now the clear fact is that, no matter socialism or capitalism, which can promote the production of social wealth, will be a good-ism. No matter socialist or capitalist, who can give people a happy life, will be a good-ist. Superstition of any side will be a harmful. Mr. Deng Xiaoping was a good player on that.
The valuable experience derived from the success of China should be that, due to the objective world is continuously changing we must solve the specific problems according to the specific circumstances and avoid to respond to all questions with a same formula or dead doctrine.
While reviewing for success of China’s economic reform, some people even said that, in this world, there is nothing impossible but only the things that are unimaginable.
Any theories have their historical limitations. Along with the social development, it will accumulate some new problems that need to be solved through updating old theories or launch new theories. Such new problems emerge and to be solved timely is the driving force to promote the progress of human civilization.
7. Some essential elements have contributed to the success of China
Here, there is a necessary to make some supplements. I think that they are important but have been ignored.
Every one knew that, in nowadays, most of daily goods are made in China, but people may feel hard to imagine the huge capacity of production in China. And some one said that China's success in rapid development is due to have enjoyed the demographic dividend, the views are certainly not comprehensive, because some other populous countries seem not able to enjoy the dividends yet besides poverty and blindness. Indeed, besides economic reform, there are also many other essential elements have contributed to the success of China.
7.1. Official designed language – Mandarin has made social communication easier and to have promoted the efficiency of social production.
China, there are 51 different races, it said that there are about hundreds local languages. Even is same language in different area, the pronunciation may be different. You will easily imagine that the result of without an effective communication tool between people. Besides many times to simplify the writing of Chinese characters, in 1958s, the government of China published the pinyin system by use of Roman alphabet to regulate the pronunciation of Chinese characters and put in use forced by law. Now in China, those people under 60 years old can easily communicate each other. It may be only official designed language worldwide.
I have talked with local Canadians; they agree that, in Canada, the people from British Colombia are not easy to understand what they said from the people of Newfoundland. Even the people of Newfoundland have their own special dictionary.
7.2. Rare poison of spiritual opium, this point should firstly thank for the thought of Karl Marx, which has been taking as social guiding ideology in socialist countries. And secondly should thank the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that had uprooted the superstitious beliefs in the society of China. It led the people of China full of pragmatic sense to strive for a better life by creating material wealth with hands busy, rather than making fantasy for the good life through praying with hands clasped. Most people of China never put their hope on next time.
7.3. The edification of Confucianism, people of China are easy well organized and disciplined. This point is very important for the production of large-scale collaboration. The admirable success of China 2008 Olympic Games is a good example. It was a sharp contrast with that of Commonwealth Games 2010 of India, which played an international joke. An Ambassador of India who works in China for three years, when he returned India and found an overpass that started to construct in three years ago is not completed yet. But, within the three years, in Beijing, he was seeing a lot of new overpasses have been put in use already.
Now, facing the difficult economic situation, we need the spirit of Keynes to question more about why and how, because it is very important to shake off the shackles of any dogmatism from time to time. It is essential to make more and more achievements by making possible from impossible according to own economic circumstances. No one will be an exception.
8. Questioning political issue
Now we enlarge the scope of questioning to that of political issue.
Nowadays, because of the popularity of the Internet and the advance of the level of public education, the current political model can not meet the need of growing awareness of public. Dictatorship is not worth to mention, even if the democracy that by electing others as representatives to decide own destiny has certainly become absurd, because reality has proven those representatives will be coerced by the political culture involuntarily, even if they have enough ethics to keep the campaign promise, it would be difficult to achieve.
Therefore, the game of by electing others as representative or to be represented by others should be ended. Instead, the public directly involving in the national legislation would be preferred.
For reaching this purpose, it must end the partisan politics. People would probably think this idea is too absurd, arrogant or insolent. But it is the key to return world a peace and to make us be able to enjoy the civilization with a civilized manner.
About the parties, the Soviet writer and journalist, Vasily Grossman has incisive commentary in his novel
Vastly • Grossman experienced the Era of Soviet Union during Stalin's rule, he witnessed Stalin used the power of political parties to do whatever he wanted according to his own desires in his later years, to have deeply harmed to the Soviet people. So, he reveals the nature of political parties sharply.
I appreciate his views on parties. In a way, parties have become a danger tool to society. If there was no party’s power support, as a separate individual, Stalin would have no ability to harm society. Not only is Stalin, it should include any individual or group that harms the public interest. For example, Hitler of Germany and the dispute of Donkey and Elephant of United States, regarding the latter one, please see <The Politics of Spite>, the writer was Paul Krugman, professor of Princeton University, Nobel laureate in economics 2008.
However, although the idea is good, but could not implement right away, it needs a careful preparation in ideology and plans. It is better to set a realistic schedule, suppose 30 years or 50 years rather than immediate reach it by protest or force. Otherwise it would be a game that is not fun because of a new social model can not be easily established as that of public willed.
9. Questioning business running in Canada.
The reason of failure of socialist countries was because of their ruling the economy too strict and rigid. Now in many aspect in Canada that seems following the dust of the failed road of former socialist countries, such as, fixed wages without association with work performance. The worst may be that antagonistic phenomenon between the employees and employers, which seems not obvious in the socialist countries.
The most of Canadian enterprises seems ignoring the long-term perspective, since they are much concern the tangible assets than that of intangible assets, such as, the cultivation for trademark value and corporate culture, which is the foundation that develops an enterprise to be proud of a giant in the forest of world-class enterprises.
Financing fund from stock market is the best way for accelerating quick development of a business. It will get more by paying less in a shortest period. Quick expanding Sunrise Farms has made it possible. The key is that whether we can brave attempt.
Of course, for achieving this goal, we need a lot of improvement and a well plan to implement step by step. Suppose we succeeded, it is no doubt that we will get enough handy funds to develop Sunrise Farms. More significant is that we will get an effective incentive means for employees from stock holdings, and thereby to promote Sunrise Farms develop faster to be a dragon Company to occupy the commanding heights of food industry in Canada, and then worldwide.
The world-class Company with millionaire employees is not a patent to be enjoyed by any individual; it is certainly enjoyable by the business in Canada. Sunrise Farms should bravely take the leading position.
As long as we change the way of thinking, we will find the way of fast developing and achieve more reward with the similar effort. The possible can certainly be made from impossible.
