Is China, seen from the West (especially from France), really an unknown? On Contradictions, Dialectics, Morality and Socialism

Abstract

It’s a fact: the world’s now leading economic power, measured by gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parities, is led by a State that claims to be Marxist and, above it, a party that still calls itself communist. Neo-liberals of all persuasions deplore this, expecting that such an “absurdity” will soon come to an end—like “the end of history.” Most proponents of Marxism should welcome this, but in general, for their part, they don’t really understand why China has become, at least as they believe, a country where capitalism is dominant. Other authors, including ourselves, see things differently. This Party uses capitalism, controlling it very strictly, to accelerate development, without deviating from its primary and constant objective: the Chinese way of building a socialist society; and for this it relies on Marxism. This thesis, although very much in the minority, including on the left, is fiercely fought in the Western countries, especially in France, no doubt much more so than elsewhere in the West. This is perhaps, paradoxically, because, all in all, there are strong similarities between the two countries. These are two political nations for which the role of the State is pre-eminent, not inclined to wage war, rooted in their territories, and finally attached to common values.
Nevertheless, there are multiple misunderstandings between them and rare cultural crossovers, to the point where it has become difficult, beyond linguistic walls and propaganda clichés, to grasp the true drivers of China’s economic growth and the profound nature of its socio-political system (Part I). It is probably that the modes of thought of these two peoples are very different, especially in their respective ways of apprehending contradictions and of representing the movements of dialectics (Part II), as well as in their diametrically opposed mobilisations of morality through political discourse (Part III). Finally, we will see what consequences we could draw from examining this comparison between the two cultures in order to interpret “socialism with Chinese colours” (Part IV). To carry out our demonstration, we will most frequently rely on the document of the Statutes of the Communist Party of China (CCP) in its preliminaries. There are many other texts that could be used, but this document, which has been revised and updated, contains both a statement of principles and a programme of action and, as the CCP is in the driving seat, is therefore of great importance.