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China - Fat of the Land but only for a select few
Special issue on China's Reform Tasks
In 1940, nine years before his Communist Party seized power, Mao Zedong set out
his plans for a "new China". The republic would he said, "take certain necessary
steps" to confiscate land from rural landlords. Under the principle of "land to
the tiller", it would then "turn the land over to the private ownership of the
peasants". If only things had turned out this way.
In this article the Economist argues that the time is right for China's rulers
to revive Mao's vision of a new landowning order. It suggests that this would
ease rural strife, fuel growth and help develop the genuine market economy the
leadership claims to want. Giving peasants' marketable ownership rights, and
developing a legal system to protect them, would according to the Economist
bring huge economic benefits.
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