Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: $Revision: 1.6.2.16 $; site inmet.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!harvard!bbnccv!inmet!janw
From: janw@inmet.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Re: (micromotives & macrobehavior)
Message-ID: <28200166@inmet.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 12-Oct-85 21:58:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: inmet.28200166
Posted: Sat Oct 12 21:58:00 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Oct-85 07:39:20 EDT
References: <762@psivax.UUCP>
Lines: 29
Nf-ID: #R:psivax:-76200:inmet:28200166:000:1217
Nf-From: inmet!janw    Oct 12 21:58:00 1985


> /* Written  3:35 pm  Oct  9, 1985 by peter@graffiti in inmet:net.politics.t */
> > >1916      Famine in China (Capitalist?)
> > 	Imperialistic, not capitalistic(in fact Nationalist China is
> > still not a captalistic country)
> 
> I've heard of imperialistic social structures, but this is the first I
> have heard of an imperialist economic structure. How does it work?

There seems to be some confusion on all sides here:

(1) The term "imperialism" as applied to economic structures  ex-
ists  but,  as  far as I know, only in Leninist literature. It is
based on Lenin's work "Imperialism as the last and highest  stage
of  capitalism".  What he meant was early 20th century capitalism
with such features as multinational corporations and colonial em-
pires.
 The term certainly doesn't apply to China.

(2) Empire in China was toppled in 1911. In 1916 China was,
officially, a republic (and it had a second revolution that year).

(3) By no reasonable standards was China capitalist in 1916.
Official Chinese historians, I believe, call it feudalistic -
but it was not like European feudalism. It was the traditional
Chinese system where government officials (mandarins) were
the upper class.

	Jan Wasilewsky