ABSTRACT
In the early stages of the reforms there was some direct opposition to private business among cadres, and this persisted to some extent, but growth of the private sector offers new opportunities to both individual cadres and their departments or localities. Despite the general trend of official support from the central government, private entrepreneurs, particularly those in urban areas, had to contend with considerable opposition and social prejudice. This is particularly noticeable in the early years after 1978, when the private sector had yet to become well established. Marcia Yudkin's book on the individual economy tells how, in Shandong, growth of the private sector caused some cadres and state enterprises to argue that it had developed too much, and some of the more Left-leaning cadres started to revoke licenses. However, there is important stream in the pro-individual economy case that argued competition from an independent private sector was necessary to stimulate sluggish state enterprises to better service and greater efficiency.
