MAOIST ideologues led by Mr Deng Liqun have made a daring critique of patriarch Mr Deng Xiaoping's radical market reforms.
Chinese sources said yesterday Mr Deng Liqun, popularly known as Little Deng, had organised a series of theoretical essays on the phenomenon of ''exploitation'' by the ''neo-capitalistic'' classes.
The articles have coincided with a revival of leftist, or Maoist, thinking in the media, which became obvious soon after the patriarch called off his anti-leftist campaign earlier this year.
The sources said Little Deng had also exploited Mr Deng's on-going concern with preserving political stability through snuffing out the seeds of ''bourgeois liberalisation''.
The gist of Little Deng's argument is that many of China's new businesses are ''profiteering'' ventures that exploit the less privileged sectors of society.
The ideologist invokes the Marxist doctrine that capitalists or neo-capitalists are building up empires through reaping the ''surplus values'' of their productions.
''Little Deng is implying that Deng Xiaoping is reviving capitalism,'' said a source who had read the articles.