Abstract
Since the beginning of human civilization, “equality for all and common prosperity” has been either the utopian dream of philosophers and poets or the grandiose rhetoric of politicians. However, the reality is quite different: “Behind the vermilion gates of the rich, meat and wine go to waste, but along the road are bones of the poor who have frozen to death” (a Chinese proverb). It has always been the case that “some families are joyful and some sad.” There exists an insurmountable divide among mankind; this stems from family background, region, and social status, and it is true both now and in ancient times, in China and other countries.
Socialism does not mean allowing a few people to grow rich
while the overwhelming majority live in poverty. No, that’s not
socialism. The greatest superiority of socialism is that it
enables all the people to prosper, and common prosperity
is the essence of socialism (Deng Xiaoping 1993a.
Deng Xiaoping (1990)
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Notes
- 1.
Speech by Deng Xiaoping in April 1990 when he met with Xie Guomin, Chairman of Chia Tai Group of Thailand, from Deng Xiaoping Chronicles (1975–1997) Part II, p. 1312, Central Documentation Press, 2004.
- 2.
The first world refers to Shanghai and Beijing, which have attained a level higher than the average of upper-middle income countries; the second refers to Tianjin, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian, and Liaoning, which have attained a level higher than the lower-middle income countries but lower than upper-middle income countries; the third world refers to Hebei and central northeast China and north China, which have attained a level higher than the average of low-income countries but lower than lower-middle income countries. The fourth world refers to the poorer areas of the central and western areas of the country, areas inhabited by national minorities, rural areas, and remote regions that have levels lower than the average of low-income countries (Angang Hu 2001).
- 3.
The per capital GDP gap coefficient among the 50 states of the United States in 2000 was 0.32 (see Kessler and Lessmann 2009).
- 4.
China’s rural poverty standard is adjusted annually. It was 100 yuan/year in 1978, 300 yuan/year in 1990, and 625 yuan/year in 2000. The current standard for a poor county is 1,196 yuan/year (used since 2009).
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Hu, A., Yan, Y., Wei, X. (2014). A Society with Shared Wealth. In: China 2030. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31328-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31328-8_7
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