Day two of the Cato
Institute’s conference, “China as a Global
Economic Power: Market Reforms in the New
Millennium,” kicked off with Ed Crane’s
address, “Civil
Society versus Political Society: China at a
Crossroads.” Crane told the crowd that there
are only two ways to organize society: through the
coercion of the state, what might be called
“political society,” and through the
voluntary actions of individuals, businesses, and
social organizations, what might be called
“civil society.” Those countries that have
maximized the latter and minimized the former, Crane
reminded conference participants, have flourished
both economically and culturally. Those that have
done the opposite have stagnated. Crane closed his
talk by stating, “Your struggle in China is to
create a constitution of liberty. The struggle of the
United States is to rediscover and enforce our own.
Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them. Leave
them alone.”
The first panel of the day, “Social
Development in China,” included Kate Xiao
Zhou’s presentation, “Market Development
and Rural Women’s Revolution in Contemporary
China.” Zhou, a native of China who is currently
teaching at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, argued
that liberalization in China has greatly increased
the economic bargaining power of women and has given
them greater financial and social freedom.
“Market development in the past several years
has done more to reduce patriarchy in China than
government action did in the previous four
decades.” Doug Bandow, senior fellow at the Cato
Institute, commented on Zhou’s paper. He echoed
her sentiments, stating, “Government power tends
to exploit men and women alike. Capitalism, however,
tends to produce equality of opportunity because the
market exacts a price from those who
discriminate.”
Minxin Pei of
Princeton University delivered his paper, “The
Growth of Civil Society in China.” He reported
that the net growth of social organizations in China
has increased significantly since 1978 but has slowed
since the political turmoil of 1989. Pei, who defined
social organizations as those groups not associated
with either the state or for-profit businesses,
decried China’s insistence that all such
organizations be registered with the government.
Commenting on Pei’s paper was Tom G. Palmer,
director of special projects at the Cato Institute.
Palmer agreed with Pei’s sentiments on
registration but argued that his definition of civil
society is too narrow. Any group that does not
acquire its funding through coercion, including both
clubs and businesses, is a part of, and contributes
to, a flowering civil society.
On the same panel was Michael Tanner, director of
health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute.
Tanner urged China to adopt a privately run, defined
contribution Social Security system similar to the
one in place in Chile (text
of remarks). The man who developed that system,
José Pinera, co-chairman of the Cato Project on
Social Security Privatization, delivered the luncheon address. He
told the crowd that since Chile privatized its
pension system in the early 1980s, it has experienced
an average annual growth rate of 7 percent. Moreover,
most retirees have received much higher benefits
under the new system than they did under the
state-run system. He also reported that three other
Latin American countries have adopted similar reforms
and four more are in the process of doing so.
The second and final panel
of the day, “Building China’s Institutional
Infrastructure,” opened with Nicholas
Lardy’s talk, “China’s
Unfinished Economic Experiment.” Like Barry
Naughton, who spoke on the first day of the
conference, Lardy congratulated China on its adoption
of more liberal policies, but warned that unless
reform is completed quickly, rent-seeking behavior
will become rampant. Milton Mueller of Rutgers
University discussed telecommunications in China (text or audio clip). He reported
that liberalization has been slow and that China has
recently enacted Internet regulations and new
restrictions on foreign news reporting. Roger Pilon,
director of the Cato Institute’s Center for
Constitutional Studies, argued that as China becomes
more technologically and socially advanced, a simpler
and more transparent legal framework will become
increasingly necessary. (text
of remarks or audio
clip)
In the afternoon many conference participants
toured Shanghai’s Pudong New area and the Museum
of Art and History. A cruise on the Huangpu River
began at 7 p.m. local time.
Links for June 17, 1997
Civil Society versus
Political Society: China at a Crossroads
Private Provision of
Retirement Security and Health Care
Empowering People:
Chile's Success with Social Security Privatization
Removing Regulatory Barriers in
China:Changing the Foreign Exchange Regime
Simple Rules for a
Complex World
Can China Conform to
the WTO Telecom Regulatory Principles?
Audio clip of Milton
Mueller
Audio clip of Roger Pilon
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