LettersWhy China doesn’t need more socialism: it didn’t go so well elsewhere

Classic socialism has not played out well in North Korea, Venezuela or Cuba. Capitalist countries with welfare programmes have done better

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Visitors at an exhibition to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, at the National Museum in Beijing on May 5, 2018. Photo: AP

Published: 5:00pm, 26 Mar 2019Updated: 5:00pm, 26 Mar 2019

Important words have important meanings. “Socialism” is an important word, but Winston Mok plays fast and loose with its meaning (“Donald Trump’s warning against socialism is nonsense – just look at Hong Kong, Singapore and China”, March 12).

Sometimes he says it’s ownership of the means of production, at other times he writes as if it’s the welfare state. The classic definition of socialism is the former: state control of the means of production.

In every country that socialism (correctly defined) has been tried, its failure has been in direct proportion to the extent to which it’s been implemented: North Korea a disaster, Venezuela a catastrophe, Cuba merely indigent.

Scandinavian countries and Singapore are not socialist. They are capitalist countries with add-on welfare state programmes: health care, unemployment benefits, pension, and the like. If American Democrats call this “socialism”, they deserve all the opprobrium they get.

However, I doubt that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and her acolytes want to stop at the welfare state. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, whose programme is classically socialist. The first step in their strategy is to get representatives elected and to move the Democratic Party to the left. This has been achieved: Democrats have moved sharply to the left (hat tip also to Bernie Sanders). It remains only to keep it moving left. Ocasio-Cortez has made no secret of her aim to do so. This is clear in her appearance at the South by Southwest conference this month.

So, no Mr Mok, we don’t want China to revert to “more socialism”. More welfare state, sure, but not “socialism”. That would be a reversion to the bad old days in China, when I recall needing ration coupons to buy my daily food. No thanks.

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Classic socialism has not played out well in North Korea, Venezuela or Cuba. Capitalist countries with welfare programmes have done better

Classic socialism has not played out well in North Korea, Venezuela or Cuba. Capitalist countries with welfare programmes have done better