Fundamentals of Political Economy

This title was first published in 1977. Fundamentals of Political Economy is a popular introductory economics text published in the People's Republic of China in 1974 as a part of the Youth Self-Education series designed particularly for individual or group study. The primary purpose of this series, according to the preface, is to elevate the cultural level of the youths going down to the countryside, to advance their knowledge of the social and natural sciences, as well as to arouse their class consciousness. It was originally published in two volumes. The first volume (11 chapters) is a critical review of the historical development of capitalism. The second volume (12 chapters) deals with Marxist economic principles and the manner in which they are applied in China. Introduction by George C. Wang --- FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY “Youth Self-Education Series” Editors’ Note 1. Learn Some Political Economy The Object of Political Economy 2. Social and Economic Systems Preceding Capitalism Production Relations in the Primitive, Slave, and Feudal Societies The Primitive Commune Established the Earliest Production Relations in Human History Slavery Was the Earliest System of Exploitation Feudalism Is Another Exploitative System Based on Class Conflicts 3. The Analysis of Capitalist Society Must Start from Commodities Commodities, Money, and the Law of Value The Commodity Relation Embodies the Seeds of All Capitalist Contradictions Money Is a Natural Product of the Development of Commodity Exchange The Law of Value Is the Economic Law of Commodity Production Expose the Mystery of Commodity Fetishism 4. How the Capitalists Exploit and Oppress the Workers Capital and Surplus Value The Secret of the Exploitation of the Workers by the Capitalists The Cruel Means by Which the Capitalists Exploit and Oppress the Workers Wages Conceal the Exploitative Relation of Capitalism 5. The Widening Gap between the Rich and the Poor in Capitalist Society Capital Accumulation and the Impoverishment of the Working Class Capital Accumulation Increases the Exploitation of the Workers The Unemployment of Workers Is the Inevitable Result of Capital Accumulation Capital Accumulation Leads to the Impoverishment of the Proletariat The Proletariat Is the Gravedigger of Capitalism 6. The Process of the Movement of Capital Is the Process of Exploiting and Realizing Surplus Value The Circular Flow of Capital, the Turnover of Capital, and the Reproduction of Social Capital The Circulation of Capital Passes through Three Phases and Takes Three Forms The Turnover of Capital Is the Continual Production and Realization of Surplus Value Capitalist Reproduction Is Realized Spontaneously amidst Antagonistic Contradictions 7. The Entire Bourgeoisie Exploits and Oppresses the Workers The Division of Surplus Labor Competition among the Industrial Capitalists Leads to the Equalization of the Rate of Profit The Commercial Capitalists Share in the Surplus Value through Commodity Transactions The Financial Capitalists Share in Surplus Value through Loans and Borrowings The Landed Class Reaps without Sowing 8. The Incurable Disease of Capitalism Economic Crises Economic Crises Are a Product of the Intensification of the Basic Contradictions in Capitalism The Worsening Tendency of Capitalist Economic Crises Economic Crises Undermine the Basis of Capitalist Rule 9. The Unchanging Nature of Imperialism Imperialism Is Monopoly Capitalism Monopoly Is the Deep-rooted Economic Basis of Imperialism Financial Capital Is an Omnipotent Monopolist Capital Export Leads to World Domination by Financial Capital The International Monopoly Alliance Carved up the World Economically Competition among the Imperialist Powers for the Division and Redivision of the World 10. Imperialism Is the Eve of Proletarian Socialist Revolution Imperialism Is Decaying and Moribund Capitalism Imperialism Is Parasitic or Decaying Capitalism Imperialism Is Dying Capitalism 11. Soviet Revisionist Social Imperialism Joins the Ranks of World Imperialism Social Imperialism Is Socialism in Name but Imperialism in Substance State Monopoly Capitalism Is the Main Economic Basis of Social Imperialism Soviet Revisionist “New International Relations” Is Another Name for Neocolonialism Soviet Revisionist Imperialism Is the Eve of a Second October Revolution 12. Socialist Society Ushers in a New Era in Human History Socialist Society and Proletarian Dictatorship Proletarian Revolution and Proletarian Dictatorship Are the Preconditions for the Emergence of Socialist Production Relations The Socialist Society Is a Fairly Long Historical Stage Socialist Society Constitutes the Beginning of People Consciously Creating History 13. The Socialist System of Public Ownership Is the Basis of Socialist Production Relations The System of Socialist State Ownership and Collective Ownership by the Laboring Masses The Socialist System of State Ownership Is the Main Economic Basis of Proletarian Dictatorship There Will Be No Completed Socialism without Agricultural Socialization The Socialist Public Ownership System Consolidates and Develops through Struggle 14. Establish Interpersonal Relations according to Socialist Principles People’s Status and Their Interrelations in Socialist Production People’s Status and Their Interrelations Have Undergone a Fundamental Change Consolidate and Develop Socialist Interrelations in the Course of Struggle The Immense Influence of the Superstructure on the Formation of Interrelations 15. Develop Socialist Production with Greater, Faster and Better Results at Lower Costs The Nature and Goal of Socialist Production and the Means of Achieving This Goal Socialist Public Ownership Has Fundamentally Changed the Nature of Social Production The Basic Economic Law of Socialism Embodies the Most Essential Relations of Socialist Production The Rapid Development of Socialist Production Is a Unity of Object Possibility and Subjective Initiative 16. The Socialist Economy Is a Planned Economy Planned and Proportional Development of the National Economy The Law of Planned Development Regulates Socialist Production The Law of Value Still Affects Socialist Production The National Economic Plan Must Correctly Reflect Objective Laws 17. We Must Rely on Agriculture as the Foundation and Industry as the Leading Factor in Developing the National Economy The Relations among Socialist Agriculture, Light Industry, and Heavy Industry Agriculture Is the Foundation of the National Economy Industry Is the Leading Factor in the Socialist Economy The National Economic Plan Must Follow the Order of Agriculture, Light Industry, and Heavy Industry 18. Frugality Is an Important Principle in the Socialist Economy Practice Frugality and Economic Accounting Frugality Is a Necessity in Socialist Economic Development Economic Accounting Is an Important Means to Develop the Socialist Economy with Greater, Faster, and Better Results at Lower Costs The System of Economic Accounting Is a Management System of the Socialist Enterprise 19. Exchange Is an Economic Form that Relates Production to Consumption Socialist Exchange and Currency Circulation Socialist Exchange Possesses Brand-new Qualities and Characteristics Socialist Exchange Must Have Appropriate Forms of Organization Money Must Be the Servant of Socialist Exchange 20. Correctly Handle the Relations among the State, the Collective, and the Individual The Distribution and Redistribution of the Socialist National Income The Socialist National Income Comes from the People and Is Spent on the People The Important Role of Public Finance in the Distribution and Redistribution of National Income The Proportional Relations between Accumulation and Consumption Are Overall Proportional Relations 21. How are Personal Consumer Goods Distributed in Socialist Society? The Socialist Principle of “From Each according to His Ability, to Each according to His Labor” “From Each according to His Ability, to Each according to His Labor” Is a Profound Revolution in the Distribution System There Are Two Basic Forms of Distribution of Personal Consumer Goods Nurture the Communist Labor Attitude 22. Mutual Aid and Exchange The External Economic Relations of the Socialist State External Economic Relations Are a Component of the Socialist State’s Foreign Relations Foreign Economic Aid Given by the Socialist State Is an Internationalist Obligation Actively Develop the Socialist State’s Foreign Trade 23. Communism Must Be Realized From the Socialist Society to the Communist Society Communism Is Irresistible The Realization of Communism Is a Profound Social Revolution --- About the Editor "This title was first published in 1977"--Provided by publisher