China

China's Consumer Revolution

Consumption in China in the 21st century is a complete contrast to its recent past. The PRC was established in 1949 by Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party, and it was essentially a socialist society with no commercial consumer culture. In the socialist Mao era, goods and services were rationed and limited in variety. The service sector consisted of state-operated shops, as private firms were banned. Workplaces (known as Danwei) consisted of state-owned enterprises and public organizations (or, in rural areas, communes and production teams), which provided all basic necessities and other goods to members, including food eaten in centralized canteens, clothing, education for children, housing, and medical services. The work units also controlled events such as travel, marriage, and family planning. Most families had only enough money to meet their basic needs, and the majority of household income was spent on food.

Consumption in China from the 1950s to 1980s is often described in the literature by the products people at that time dreamed about owning, such as a bicycle, transistor radio, watch, and a sewing or washing machine. However, these items were expensive and were not commonplace, as households needed to save up or pool their incomes. Socialist ideology also dictated consumer fashions; for example, it was patriotic to dress in standardized clothing, such as the blue and grey cotton suits of the late 1970s, but ideologically improper [Page 119]to wear items such as jewelry. The Mao era was also characterized by various social and economic movements such as the Cultural Revolution—the antithesis of a consumer culture—which brought momentous change and periods of turmoil.

Deng Xiaoping's rise to leadership in 1978, following Mao Zedong's death in 1976, was a major turning point in 20th-century China and completely changed the face of consumption. Deng abandoned socialism and a centrally planned economy in favor of a market economy. He instigated the “Open Door” policy that gave the country access to foreign goods, investment, and technology transfer. Reform policies included the liberalization of industry, which encouraged the growth of privately owned enterprises, and price liberalization, which replaced state-set prices with market forces. Deng's famous slogans included “To get rich is glorious,” “poverty is not socialism,” and “take the lead in getting rich.” The government implemented the Four Modernizations Program that emphasized developments in agriculture, industry, education, science, technology, and defense. As a result of these changes, China, in the post-Mao era, is transitioning to a modern nation. The country's economic prowess is reflected in almost all measures of development, especially gross domestic product (GDP), which has grown at staggering rates.

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