On 22/05/13 16:41, AM wrote:
I found a better answer than mine on Yahoo
"Officially, China is still labeled by the West as a communist country.
But in reality, it is different than that. The present day communist
China is totally different from what it was 30 to 50 years ago (during
the leadership of Mao Tse Tung). In political textbooks, Communism is
defined as a form of government where the very way of life of an
individual living in such a communist state is based on everything
common to all people within the state (hence the word commune, where the
word communism had its root). This means common dwelling, schools, food,
medical care, transportation, etc.. In essence, everything is owned by
the state and there is no such thing as private property or private
ownership. The farm that you till belongs to the state, the cattle that
you raise belong to the state, the goods you produce belong to the
state, the house where you live belongs to the state, etc.. You, as a
person have no right to own anything for yourself, as everything belongs
to the state. Clearly this is a very restrictive, reclusive, and
oppressive society. This is what China was 30 to 50 years ago.
The present day China is not like that anymore. Now, people can buy and
own houses, cars, DVDs, computers, jewelries, fancy clothes, etc.. They
are now allowed to travel anywhere, study or travel abroad if they can
afford it. They can start and operate their own business enterprises and
keep the profits from it, although the exception to this are major
public utility enterprises like power generation, transportation,
telecommunication, which are still state-owned enterprises (or
semi-government, with private entities owning parts of these enterprises).
So in reality, China nowadays is a capitalist-driven economy. Its people
don't refer to themselves as communists anymore, but as private Chinese
citizens. Most of the West however, is still accustomed to the old way
of referring to China and its people as Communist (which always comes
with the negative connotation associated with that word)."