Originally published in 1983. The author cites that the implicit message of this volume, translated here in full, is that had Chen's views been heeded earlier, China would have developed rapidly and successfully.
Explores the relationship between the Chinese peasantry, who are the fundamental base of support for the revolutionary Chinese Communist Party, and the state-led economic system established by the Party after 1949.
This study focuses on the China's leadership's attempt to improve economic efficiency by decentralizing economic management without encouraging, as a consequence, increased economic inequality among different regions.