Dilemmas of Reform in China: Political Conflict and Economic Debate (review)

Reviews 459 Joseph Fewsmith. Dilemmas ofReform in China: Political Conflict and Economic Debate. Socialism and Social Movements series. Armonk and London : M. E. Sharpe, 1994. vii, 289 pp. Hardcover $55.00. Paperback $19.95. In this book, Joseph Fewsmith describes the emergence and development of economic ideas and policies from the late 1970s through the 1980s. He focuses on the conflicts and leadership disputes that are characteristic ofthe process ofreform and which led to the collapse ofthis process in 1988-1989: a process that encompasses the desires and pressures ofsociety (particularly peasants and enterprises), mid-level political actors (particularly in the case of rural reform), quasi-official policy advisors (such as the Rural Development Group), bureaucratic organs and policy groups (such as the State Planning Commission, the State Economic Structural Reform Commission, and the Economic Structural Reform Institute), and the power considerations of elite actors, (p. 241) Fewsmith states that during recent years there has been a tendency to focus research on a level below that ofelite politics. The center ofgravity has been bureaucratic politics, provincial leadership and the Central Committee, local politics , or societal interests. Fewsmith implicitly aims at linking the bureaucratic and societal process to an in-depth understanding ofelite politics. A previous insight has been reconfirmed in his book, namely the degree to which reform policies are propelled , constrained, and warped by the political dynamic at the top ofthe regime. The book is made up of a collection of accounts of intrigues. The reader feels as ifit is the story ofpeople, instead of a party, a government, and its public servants . It is about the relations and games between politicians, who are collectively responsible for the design of the reform process. Emphasis is put on the main points of the debate with respect to the course of reform and the introduction of particular ideas by certain politicians. Interesting also is the discussion of the reception ofWestern economic principles during the course ofreform. Through a detailed analysis ofthe writings ofChinese economists, different schools ofeconomic thought emerge. Indeed, Fewsmith's aim of going beyond generalizations about "reformers" and "conservatives" is well realized. His description is backed by extensive references to Chinese publications that appeared during the course of the reform and by interviews with participants. He details the interaction between economists and politicians.© 1995 by UniversityWith regard to the dominance of elite politics in the relations between politiofHawai 'i Presscians and economists, Fewsmith states: It might be said that economists and economic bureaucrats mediate between the economy and the policy makers, interpreting economic trends for the lead- 460 China Review International: Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1995 ership and offering broad cognitive maps in the hope of influencing both specific decisions and the conceptual understanding ofthe leadership. It must also be said, however, that economists respond to the political agendas of individual leaders. Frequently what is demanded ofeconomists is that they find economic solutions to the political dilemmas facing the party's leadership. Thus, what apparently drives the process all too often is the political needs of particular leaders; economists then find themselves in the role of shaping economic policies that support the political position ofindividual leaders, (p. 6) Fewsmith writes in his conclusion that perhaps the most obvious illustration ofhow elite politics has been central to the reform process is to be found in an examination ofthe beginning ofthe reform period. Indeed, this is where the book takes its start. Fewsmith concentrates on the ideological formulations which played a role in the establishment of Dengist rule. The author also states, in the introduction, that the Tiananmen massacre was only a consequence oflong-standing tensions between political fractions. It was a clear expression to the outside world that the Chinese political system had failed. It was obvious from the political collapse in 1989 that the reform process was not sufficiently institutionalized to be able to absorb the existing political tensions. Fewsmith points to the influence of elite politics in the success of the Dengist coalition. On the other hand, he reminds us of the role ofelite competition in the reform process, namely the way in which reforms either were or were not implemented . He pays great attention to the...