Research On The Reform Of Production Mode Of Agriculture In Contemporary China

Since the reform and opening-up policy launched, it has been thirty years. The problems ofagriculture, countryside and farmers have not yet been solved, and even it is becoming one ofthe prominent problems to the development and stability of Chinese economy and society.The problem about agriculture of the "Three issues about Agriculture, Countryside andFarmers" is a fundamental and core issue, moreover, this problem is a problem about mode ofproduction if we look at the nature of the problem about agriculture. It is because thedevelopment of agriculture is being hindering by the laggard mode of production in the fieldsof mode of labor, structure of economy, ownership of production factors and relations ofproduction. The slow development of agriculture directly impacts the social development ofcountryside and the increasing income of farmers, even restricts the industrialization and theurbanization. So based on the Marxist political economics, using the Marxism founder'sagricultural production mode theory to comprehensively research and analyze the issues ofthe innovation of the mode of production will make sense to directing the Chinesedevelopment in socialism, developing the theory of the production mode and leading theinnovation of the production mode.Chapter1and2are the part about theoryChapter1is about the results and findings by the research in the innovation of the mode ofproduction. Firstly it systematically summaries the arguments and mind of agriculture by thefounder of Marxism including production by family and its transformation theory, Thecapitalist mode of production agriculture theory, Socialistic agricultural production modetheory. Secondly it briefly states and compares the results and findings of the theories ofinnovating the mode of production and developing the modern agriculture by domesticeconomist with the results and findings in Microeconomics in agriculture development. Itargues that the Marxist political economics, institutional economics and developmenteconomics pay high attention on the status of agriculture and the feedback effect to agriculture by industry and their targets of study are mainly about the economic system andthe system change. However it has differences in nature as they have different methodologiesof study and different degree of attentions in the relationship between politics and economy.Chapter2is about Marxism founder's agricultural production mode theory. It contains threeparts: firstly it is regarding to the common theory of Marxism founder's production mode,which defines the production mode. Production mode is the conditions and modalities ofproduction including the technical conditions of production, social conditions of productionand social modality of production. It illustrates the basic and primary characteristics ofproduction mode, which are objectivity, sociality, and historic significance. It points out theproduction mode plays and decisive role in social economy and also states the certain innerrelationship of the productivity, production mode and production relations. It concludesMarxism's analysis of the inner contradictions and the rule of development of capitalism.Secondly it discusses Marxism founder's production mode of small-scale peasant economytheory. It points out the small-scale peasant production mode is actually a mode ofsmall-scale production, which hinders the development of social productivity and leads tosmall peasants' poverty and feudalism, therefore, it must be substituted by socializedlarge-scale agricultural production. The third part is about Marxism founder's productionmode of capitalism theory. It says this theory is caused by the emergence of the industrialproduction mode of capitalism. Socialized agricultural production, scientific productionconditions, enterprise organization, capitalism's social relations are the fundamentalcharacteristics of the theory. It also states the advantages. The fourth part is Marxismfounder's socialism agricultural production mode theory. It firstly states the theory's commonfeatures, which are actually the basic features of social ownership of agricultural means ofproduction, forms of organization and production of the "commonwealth free mancommunity" and well planning of agriculture and industry. It also illustrates the basic meanshow developed countries make the transition to the socialism agricultural production mode,which means the comprehensively nationalized land and cooperation. It states thefundamental way to founding socialism agricultural production mode in poor countries,which is generally by transforming the small-scale peasant production mode by collectivization.Chapter3,4and5are the empirical research part of this paper.Chapter3is mainly about the evolution history of agricultural production mode of ourcountry. Firstly, it is intended to elaborate the origin of agriculture in China and thetransformation process from primitive agriculture to traditional agriculture, and then throughfurther analysis, to indicate the basic characteristics of the traditional agricultural productionmode and relations in ancient China, i.e. traditional agricultural production techniquecharacterized of intensive and meticulous farming, Separate management of small-scalepeasant economy and feudal ownership of the means of production as well as feudal relationsbased on the feudal land rent and individuals. Secondly, it provides with the elaboration of thebasic characteristics of agricultural production mode and relations of modern China, i.e.production technique condition dominated by traditional farming technique and familymanagement, rural natural economic system and feudal land ownership that are demolishing,and the rural production relations brutally exploited by feudalism, imperialism and bureaucratcapitalism. Lastly, this thesis briefly elaborates the principal features of agriculture during thenational economy recovery period and the forming process of traditional socialism productionmode. By detailed analysis, the paper gives a full elaboration of the main characteristics oftraditional socialism agricultural production mode, i.e. slow development of agriculturalmechanization, primary position of traditional agricultural production technique and thefull-round establishment of people's commune system in terms of agricultural productioncondition; state monopoly over purchase and marketing of agricultural products and nationalagricultural planned economic system in terms of economic system; in respect of forms ofownership, singular pattern of ownership and administrative public ownership are adopted inthe rural area; in terms of labor form, farmers work collectively under administrative ordersonly; in the area of production relations, people's commune management and egalitariandistribution system with characteristics of "large scale and high collectiveness" and"integration of government administration with commune management" are adopted.Chapter4is about reform practice and features of agricultural production mode in reality atcurrent stage in China, expounding the reform practices since China's reform and opening up, which involves carrying out household contract management system, agriculturemechanization, growth of rural market economy system as well as reform of farmlandproperty rights system and social relations etc.. This part presents with the features ofagriculture production mode at the current stage in reality, i.e. the technique condition ofcoexistence for agricultural mechanization and conventional farming, production organizationform of farmers' small-scale production activity, low-level rural marketization, collectivelandownership, farmers' individual labor, management system combined labourers'independent management with local administrative intervention, and distribution pattern ofcoexistence for self-sufficiency via self-working and local labor taxes, in such way, furtherpointing out the major problem existing at present is that household contract managementresponsibility system restricts the progress of production technology, scale management ofland, the transfer of rural surplus labor force, and agriculture development shifting toindustrialization and marketization. Moreover, the separation of collective landownershipfrom farmers' right of use restrains the farmers' activeness in management and investment.Chapter5, the basic characteristics of production mode patterns for modern agriculture inforeign countries, is intended to comparatively study the three different modern agriculturaldevelopment patterns--the mode with large scale, high mechanization and technologyrepresented by the USA, resource-saving and capital-intensive pattern represented by Japanand Israel, and synthesized mode combined intensive production with mechanical technique--and summarize the major characteristics of these three patterns, which include the importantpositive role of government and agricultural economic collaborative organization, sustainabledevelopment, modern agriculture of specialization, large scale, industrialization andmarketization, the establishment of agricultural science and technology promotion systemetc..Chapter6is a part to provide with some countermeasures and suggestions.Chapter6, the principles, objectives and countermeasures in pushing forwardcomprehensively reform of agricultural production mode at the current stage in China, bringsup first the viewpoint that the fundamental principle in carrying forward agriculturalproduction mode is to come up with innovative idea in realizing reform while embodying the substantive characteristics of socialism agricultural production mode; then, the objectivemodel for the reform of agricultural production mode in our country is clearly defined, thatis to construct modern agricultural way of working with distinct Chinese characteristics,agricultural economy market system, diversified ownership structures of agriculturalproduction factors and novel rural production relations; at last, some main countermeasuresand suggestions for the reform are proposed again.