Minqi Li
Encyclopedia
Minqi Li is a Chinese Political Economist
, world-systems analyst, and historical social scientist
, currently an associate professor of Economics at the University of Utah
. Li is known as an advocate of the Chinese New Left and a Marxist economist.
.
Li was arrested after advocating free market
principles in 1990, and made a vast switch to become a Marxist after extensive reading of the works of Karl Marx
, Mao Zedong
, and others while a political prisoner until his release in 1992. Li spent the next two years traveling in China, debating with remaining liberal dissident activists and conducting his own research into political,economic, and social development in modern China, using fake identification to visit provincial and city libraries. His view became one opposed to the mainstream, being that Mao Zedong
's influence was a "revolutionary legacy rather than a historical burden for future socialist revolutionaries."
In 1994, he authored the book Capitalist Development and Class Struggle in China, which consisted of an analysis of the economic development of China
in the Maoist era and the 1980s, as well as a Marxist analysis of the 1989 “democratic movement”
, arguing that it was not a popular democratic movement and was abandoned by the liberal intellectuals, led to the physical and ideological slaughter of the urban working class, and led to a victory of the bureaucratic capitalists. He attempted to show that this paved the way for China's transition to Capitalism
. He criticized neoliberal economics and its relation to economic rationality, inherent contradictions between democracy
and capitalism, and the social and material conditions that had led to China's rise with a conclusion focusing on a criticism of state-capitalism and advocating democratic socialism
.
After firmly completing a political and intellectual break with the mainstream Chinese liberal tradition and their political counterparts, he established himself as a revolutionary Marxist. Li arrived in the United States
on December 25, 1994 and became a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts
. Since then, he has been among the foremost promoters of the Chinese "New Left."
Li went on to author many Marxist articles for Monthly Review in this period, notably "After Neoliberalism: Empire, Social Democracy, or Socialism?".
In 2001 Li's focus shifted to World Capitalist Systems, and the work of Immanuel Wallerstein
in particular. Inspired by Wallerstein's arguments, he wrote a Chinese
article, “Reading Wallerstein’s Capitalist World-Economy—And the China Question in the First Half of the 21st Century,” being the first economist
to link the "rise of China" to the demise of capitalism. The article gained popularity among the New Left in China without his knowledge, and was published in Currents of Thought: China’s New Left and Its Influences which he found by surprise while browsing in a Chinese bookstore in Philadelphia. In late 2001 he expanded his study of China in relation to World-Systems in a critique of Jiang Zemin
's theory of Chinese social strata (a refutation of Marxist social relations from a Chinese perspective, arguing that China is moving towards a "middle-class society"), in his “China’s Class Structure from the World-System’s Perspective.” Li argued that China’s economic rise would in fact greatly destabilize the capitalist world-economy in various ways and contribute to its final demise. Building upon his previous two papers, he wrote “The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy: Historical Possibilities of the 21st Century.” He then incorporated these and several other papers into his book "The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy" in 2009, in which he argued, based upon an analysis of environmental data in relation to the Capitalist world economy, that the only way to avoid the inevitable collapse of civilization is to adopt a socialist world government by the middle of the 21st century.
From 2003 to 2006, he taught graduate and undergraduate courses on political economy
at York University
in Toronto
, Canada
, and then went on to teach at the University of Utah
, where he currently teaches.
He later worked on translation of Ernest Mandel
's "Power and Money" into Chinese with Meng Jie, and was an analyst of Chinese issues in 2008 for The Real News.
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
, world-systems analyst, and historical social scientist
Social Scientist
Social Scientist is a New Delhi based journal in social sciences and humanities published since 1972....
, currently an associate professor of Economics at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. Li is known as an advocate of the Chinese New Left and a Marxist economist.
Biography
Li was a student at the Economic Management Department of Beijing University during the period 1987–90. There he studied and became convinced of neoliberal 'Chicago School' economics. He engaged in many protests of the existing economic system, and engaged in much activism after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
.
Li was arrested after advocating free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
principles in 1990, and made a vast switch to become a Marxist after extensive reading of the works of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, and others while a political prisoner until his release in 1992. Li spent the next two years traveling in China, debating with remaining liberal dissident activists and conducting his own research into political,economic, and social development in modern China, using fake identification to visit provincial and city libraries. His view became one opposed to the mainstream, being that Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
's influence was a "revolutionary legacy rather than a historical burden for future socialist revolutionaries."
In 1994, he authored the book Capitalist Development and Class Struggle in China, which consisted of an analysis of the economic development of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the Maoist era and the 1980s, as well as a Marxist analysis of the 1989 “democratic movement”
Chinese democracy movement
The Chinese democracy movement refers to a series of loosely organized political movements in the People's Republic of China against the continued one-party rule by the Communist Party. One such movement began during the Beijing Spring in 1978 and was taken up again in the Tiananmen Square...
, arguing that it was not a popular democratic movement and was abandoned by the liberal intellectuals, led to the physical and ideological slaughter of the urban working class, and led to a victory of the bureaucratic capitalists. He attempted to show that this paved the way for China's transition to Capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
. He criticized neoliberal economics and its relation to economic rationality, inherent contradictions between democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and capitalism, and the social and material conditions that had led to China's rise with a conclusion focusing on a criticism of state-capitalism and advocating democratic socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
After firmly completing a political and intellectual break with the mainstream Chinese liberal tradition and their political counterparts, he established himself as a revolutionary Marxist. Li arrived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on December 25, 1994 and became a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
. Since then, he has been among the foremost promoters of the Chinese "New Left."
Li went on to author many Marxist articles for Monthly Review in this period, notably "After Neoliberalism: Empire, Social Democracy, or Socialism?".
In 2001 Li's focus shifted to World Capitalist Systems, and the work of Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...
in particular. Inspired by Wallerstein's arguments, he wrote a Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
article, “Reading Wallerstein’s Capitalist World-Economy—And the China Question in the First Half of the 21st Century,” being the first economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
to link the "rise of China" to the demise of capitalism. The article gained popularity among the New Left in China without his knowledge, and was published in Currents of Thought: China’s New Left and Its Influences which he found by surprise while browsing in a Chinese bookstore in Philadelphia. In late 2001 he expanded his study of China in relation to World-Systems in a critique of Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
's theory of Chinese social strata (a refutation of Marxist social relations from a Chinese perspective, arguing that China is moving towards a "middle-class society"), in his “China’s Class Structure from the World-System’s Perspective.” Li argued that China’s economic rise would in fact greatly destabilize the capitalist world-economy in various ways and contribute to its final demise. Building upon his previous two papers, he wrote “The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy: Historical Possibilities of the 21st Century.” He then incorporated these and several other papers into his book "The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy" in 2009, in which he argued, based upon an analysis of environmental data in relation to the Capitalist world economy, that the only way to avoid the inevitable collapse of civilization is to adopt a socialist world government by the middle of the 21st century.
From 2003 to 2006, he taught graduate and undergraduate courses on political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and then went on to teach at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, where he currently teaches.
He later worked on translation of Ernest Mandel
Ernest Mandel
Ernest Ezra Mandel, also known by various pseudonyms such as Ernest Germain, Pierre Gousset, Henri Vallin, Walter , was a revolutionary Marxist theorist.-Life:...
's "Power and Money" into Chinese with Meng Jie, and was an analyst of Chinese issues in 2008 for The Real News.
Works
- The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy. London: Pluto Press; New York: Monthly Review Press (November 2008 / January 2009).
- Three Essays on China’s State Owned Enterprises: Towards An Alternative to Privatization. Hamburg: VDM Verlag (October 2008).
- Quanli yu Ziben (Power and Capital, Author: Ernest Mandel), translation from English into Chinese. Beijing: Zhongyang Bianyi Chubanshe (The CCP Central Committee Compilation and Translation Press 2002). (with Meng Jie)
- ‘China und der globale Klassenkampf – Passagen der Revolution? (China and the Global Class Struggle – Passages of Revolution?,” in Ingo Schmidt, ed., Spielarten des Neoliberalismus (Varieties of Neoliberalism) (Hamburg: VSA-Verlag, VSA-Publishers, 2008), pp. 191–212.
- ‘Capitalism with Zero Profit Rate? Limits to Growth and the Law of the Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall,” in Growth and Crisis: Social Structure of Accumulation Theory and Analysis (2006, E-book: http://www.cisc.ie/documents/00024ciscwp.pdf).
- ‘China: Hyper-Development and Environmental Crisis,’ in Leo Panitch and Colin Leys, eds., Coming to Terms with Nature (Socialist Register 2007) (London: The Merlin Press 2006), pp. 130–146. (with Dale Wen)
- ‘The Past, the Present, and the Future of the Capitalist World-Economy,’ in Li Shenming, ed., 2005 Nian Shijie Shehuizhuyi Genzong Yanjiu Baogao (2005: World Socialism Yellowbook) (Beijing: Shehue Kexue Wenxian Chubanshe or Social Science Literature Press), pp. 378–412. (with Zhu Andong)
- ‘A Dialogue on the Future of China,’ in Chaohua Wang, ed., One China, Many Paths (London: Verso 2003), pp. 313–358. (with Wang Dan and Wang Chaohua)
- ‘Reading Wallerstein’s “The Capitalist World-Economy” with a Discussion on the China Question in the First Half of the 21st Century,’ in Gong Yang, ed., Si Chao (Intellectual Currents, Beijing: China Social Science Press 2003), pp. 89-109.
- ‘One Hundred Million Jobs for the Chinese Workers!: Why China’s Current Model of Development Is Unsustainable and How *A Progressive Economic Program Can Help the Chinese Workers, the Chinese Economy, and China’s Environment,’ Review of Radical Political Economics (forthcoming) (with Chiara Piovani).
- ‘Socialism, Capitalism, and Class Struggle: the Political Economy of Modern China,’ Economic and Political Weekly, XLIII(52): 77-96, December 27, 2008 – January 2, 2009.
- ‘Climate Change, Limits to Growth, and the Imperative for Socialism,’ Monthly Review, 60:3 (July–August 2008), pp. 51–67.
- ‘An Age of Transition: The United States, China, Peak Oil, and the Demise of Neoliberalism,’ Monthly Review, 59:11 (April 2008), pp. 20–34.
- ‘Long Waves, Institutional Changes, and Historical Trends: A Study of the Long-Term Movement of the Profit Rate in the Capitalist World-Economy,’ Journal of World-Systems Research, XIII:1 (December 2007), pp. 33–54 (with Feng Xiao and Andong Zhu). Website:
- http://jwsr.ucr.edu/volumes/vol13/Li_etal-vol13n1.pdf.
- ‘Peak Oil, the Rise of China and India, and the Global Energy Crisis,’ Journal of Contemporary Asia, 37:4 (November 2007), pp. 449–471.
- China – Energie, Nahrungsmittel, Klimawandel (‘Energy, Food, Climate Change, and the Rise of China: Scenarios of Global Crisis’), Zeitschrift Marxistische Erneuerung, 71 (September 2007), pp. 86–99.
- Der Ausfstieg Chinas und das Zeitalter des übergangs (‘The Rise of China and the Age of Transition’), Das Argument, 268 (2006), pp. 105–111.
- ‘Secular Trends, Long Waves, and the Cost of the State: Evidence from the Long-Term Movement of the Profit Rate in the US Economy 1869-2000,’ Review: A Journal of the Fernand Braudel Center for the Studies of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations, XXIX:1 (2006), pp. 87–114. (with Adam Hanieh)
- ‘The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World-Economy: Exploring the Historical Possibilities in the 21st Century,’ Science & Society, 69:3 (2005), pp. 420–448.
- ‘Workers’ Participation in Management and Firm Performance: Evidence for Large and Medium-Sized Chinese Industrial Enterprises,’ Review of Radical Political Economics, 36:3 (2004), pp. 358-380.
- ‘Aggregate Demand, Productivity, and “Disguised Unemployment” in the Chinese Industrial Sector,’ World Development, 32:3 (2004), pp. 409-425.
- ‘After Neoliberalism: Empire, Social Democracy, or Socialism?,’ Monthly Review, 55:8 (2004), pp. 21–36.
- ‘China’s Social Structure within the Purview of the World System,’ Shi Jie (Horizons), 11 (2003).
- ‘Reading Wallerstein’s “The Capitalist World-Economy” with a Discussion of the China Question in the First Half of the 21st Century,’ Shi Jie (Horizons), 8 (2000).
- ‘The Marketization of the Chinese Economy and the Role of the Public Sector,’ Zhanlue yu Guanli (Strategy and Management), March–April 2000.
- ‘The U.S. New Economy and the Contradictions of Modern Capitalism,’ Du Shu (Reading), November 1999.
- ‘China: Six Years after Tiananmen,’ Monthly Review, 47:8 (1996), pp. 1–13.
- ‘Peak Energy and the Limits to China’s Economic Growth: Prospect of Energy Supply from Now to 2050,’ The Political Economy Research Institute of University of Massachusetts Amherst, Working Paper 189 (December 2008). Website: http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_151-200/WP189.pdf.
- ‘U.S., China, and the Unraveling of Global Imbalances,’ The Political Economy Research Institute of University of Massachusetts Amherst, Working Paper 146 (October 2007). Website: http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_101-150/WP146.pdf.
- ‘Capitalism with Zero Profit Rate? Limits to Growth and the Law of the Tendency for the Rate of Profit to Fall,’ Department of Economics Working Paper Series No. 2007-05. Website:
- http://www.econ.utah.edu/activities/papers/2007_05.pdf
- ‘Neoliberalism, Global Imbalances, and Stages of Capitalist Development,’ The Political Economy Research Institute of University of Massachusetts Amherst, Working Paper 110 (August 2005). Website: http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_101-150/WP110.pdf (with Andong Zhu)
- ‘Global Chaos? Global Governance? – The Capitalist World Economy Series IV,’ Gaoxiao Lilun Zhanxian (Higher Education Theoretical Forum), July 2005. (with Zhu Andong)
- ‘Neoliberalism and Global Economic Crisis – The Capitalist World Economy Series III,’ Gaoxiao Lilun Zhanxian (Higher Education Theoretical Forum), June 2005. (with Zhu Andong)
- ‘From Colonialism to the Golden Age – The Capitalist World Economy Series II,’ Gaoxiao Lilun Zhanxian (Higher Education Theoretical Forum), May 2005. (with Zhu Andong)
- ‘The Current World Historical Conjuncture – The Capitalist World Economy Series I,’ Gaoxiao Lilun Zhanxian (Higher Education Theoretical Forum), April 2005. (with Zhu Andong)
- ‘The Past, the Present, and the Future of the Capitalist World-Economy,’ Book-Length Special Issue of the World Socialism Research Center, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (December 2004). (with Zhu Andong).
- ‘China’s Public Services Privatization and Poverty Reduction: Health Care and Education Reform in China and the Impact on Poverty,’ United Nations Development Programme Policy Brief, Summer 2004. (with Andong Zhu)
- ‘China’s Urban Unemployment: “Disguised Unemployment” or Insufficient Aggregate Demand?,’ The Political Economy *Research Institute of University of Massachusetts Amherst, Working Paper 22 (2001). Website: http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_1-50/WP22.pdf.
- ‘A Harmony of Capitalism and Socialism?,’ Science & Society, 73(2) (2008), pp. 214–219.
- Review of The Transformation of Chinese Socialism (Lin Chun, Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press 2006), Science & Society, 72:4 (October 2008), pp. 489–491.
- Review of Economic Growth, Transition, and Globalization in China (Yanrui Wu ed., Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar 2006), Journal of Contemporary Asia, August 2008.
- ‘China: Hyper-Development and Environmental Crisis,’ in Kikan Pipuruzu
- Puran (People's Plan Quarterly), Japanese Translation, February 2008 (with Dale Wen).
- ‘Global Capitalism in Danger,’ Monthly Review Webzine, August 19, 2005. Website: http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/li190805.html.
- ‘Socialism is Dead in China, Long Live the Chinese Socialism! – A Review of China and Socialism,’ Pipan yu Sikao (Criticisms and Rethinking, Taiwan), March 2005.
- ‘A Dialogue on the Future of China,’ New Left Review, 235 (1999). (with Wang Dan and Wang Chaohua)
- ‘Response to Lau’s “China: Labour Reform and the Challenge Facing the Working Class”,’ Capital and Class, 65 (1998).
See also
- Tiananmen Square protests of 1989Tiananmen Square protests of 1989The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
- Immanuel WallersteinImmanuel WallersteinImmanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...
- World-systems approach
- Chinese New Left