ABSTRACT
There continues to be intense debate over the reasons for China’s rapid economic growth between 1978 and 1996. Many development economists see China’s success in Manichean terms. Good (capitalism) supplants evil (socialism), and economic growth offers the perfect happy ending. According to Collier (2007: 66):
In the 1960s Mao Zedong hurled China into ruin, to an adoring chorus from the Western media. But in response to failure the Chinese political elite swung policy 180 degrees and generated the biggest economic success in history (Mao made his own invaluable contribution by dropping dead).
