Chinese entrepreneurs are no agents of democratic change
James Fishback says those in business tend to focus on self-interests
With China in the midst of reform in the latter half of the 20th century, entrepreneurs were scarce and private business limited. In fact, in 1977, Beijing did not even collect official data on private enterprises.
Yet, as of last year, there were some 40 million private businesses, accounting for some 60 per cent of gross domestic product.
Despite this staggering growth, the rights of business owners and their employees are rarely safeguarded by law. Instead, entrepreneurs face restricted access to basic sources of credit and insurance, and are denied the chance to vote for political leaders who could defend material interests and property rights.
As such, the rapid growth of China's private sector as a socio-economic force poses two intriguing puzzles: how it can achieve sustained high growth rates amid discriminatory policies; and why Chinese entrepreneurs have not become a force for democratic change.
Chinese entrepreneurs have dealt with their limited power differently from other entrepreneurs who operated under authoritative governments throughout history.
Business contingents in England, France and the US, for example, challenged their governments, and so unleashed democratic change that inspired national reconstruction efforts - even if their short-term motives were self-serving.
In China, however, entrepreneurs' reliance on informal business networks and spontaneous political arrangements prevent many from kindling the degree of change needed to drastically redirect Beijing's central governance.