It has become an article of faith among many economists that China's pro-market reforms of the 1980s and 1990s ushered in a sustained reduction in poverty.
Not saying the lives of many haven’t improved. But outside the major cities/provinces. For many, little has changed. Definitely not for the better. Even as the party has enriched themselves. Building opulent terminals for high speed ghost rail lines etc.
I don’t hear anyone making that claim. If 40 years ago say 30% of your population could barely afford food and today it’s only 5% it still very much sucks for that 5% but it’s still objectively better for there to be less super poor people than before.
Yeah, you’re gonna have to count me pretty fucking skeptical that the poor in China in 1981 were better off than the poor in China today.
Not saying the lives of many haven’t improved. But outside the major cities/provinces. For many, little has changed. Definitely not for the better. Even as the party has enriched themselves. Building opulent terminals for high speed ghost rail lines etc.
Are you missing the fact that over 278 million Chinese people move out of the rural areas to those cities to take part in the prosperity?
Here’s the data to back it up: source
Rural population of China in 1981:
Rural population in of China 2022:
I don’t hear anyone making that claim. If 40 years ago say 30% of your population could barely afford food and today it’s only 5% it still very much sucks for that 5% but it’s still objectively better for there to be less super poor people than before.
That… that’s literally the claim the article is making.
Yeah, but you don’t hear it.