Rationality And Irrationality In Modern China's Economic Nationalism

The so-called Economic Nationalism is defined by comparing Economic Cosmopolitism. Economic Nationalism means nation-state utilizes some administrative power through government to intervene macroeconomics, protect domestic enterprises or products, resist foreign enterprises to merge and purchase domestic enterprises and import foreign products, protect national industries, and develop national culture traditions to maintain national economic benefits under the reality of the international economic competition. It is also called "Economic Patriotism", which is one method among Economic Protectionism.The difference is that the main supporting power of the modern Economic Nationalism---- the important type of China's modern Nationalism was non-governmental, gradually formed and developed with the increasing nation crisis, deep expansion of national political reform movement, continuous growth of Chin's national capitalism, and growing disillusion of the people's nation consciousness. It was sprouted after The Opium War in the middle of the 19^th century, developed with the imperialism's aggression, came into being in the end of the 19^th century & the beginning of the 20^th century, and culminated gradually after the Republic was founded.Guided by the thoughts of Economic Nationalism, plentiful movements arose in modern China successively such as the Commercial War, the Sports of Taking Back the Interests Rights, Foreign Goods Resistance, Saving the Nation through Practical Industries, Advocating National Goods Movement, etc. Comparing with traditional nationalism, China's modern Economic Nationalism changed the methods which China resist west countries in the past including expelling foreigners with violence, refusing west countries thoroughly, and some emotional and irrational methods. It was changed into civilized and rational battle methods with the guide of the International Law; when resisting foreign goods, it also studied western advanced technology; it also took advantage of some modern media such as new-style social organization and newspaper to launch and publicize; It produced an active and deep influence, resisted foreign countries' economic aggression in some degree, impelled national economy's development, heightened the consciousness of national realizing, and promoted the whole nation's consciousness. Therefore, it is rational and active in general and it became an important part among China's anti-imperialism and patriotism wars. However, due to the character of national bourgeois who is the movement's main beginner and leader together with China's poor national power and China's government's flabbiness and inability, the resistance movement couldn't last a long time and its result is very limited. Simultaneously, under the background of economic globalization and China's semi-colonial and semi-feudal history, Economic Nationalism was not only bad for China's merge into the world, but also could not make China get rid of foreign countries' colonial aggression and win national independence, not to speak of impelling China into the independent and prosperous road.With further development of China's Economic Nationalism, how to merge into economic globalization under the precondition of maintaining our national benefits, establish rational nationalism, and make China's great renaissance come true is an important task we are confronting.The research to Modern Economic Nationalism, the necessary enlightenment and reference should be provided for modern China. The writer of this thesis thinks that China must hold up highly the flag of nationalism as well as patriotism to exert their active function largely. At the same time, we should strengthen rational guide of patriotism education, reinforce our democratic and legal construction, take an active part in international competition with the purpose to merge initiatively into the economic globalization tide with rational, peaceful and opening spirit and broad bosom and make China's great renaissance come true at an early date.Embarking on the nationalism's forming process and main practical activities in modern China's and basing on resisting foreign goods movement, this thesis briefly analyzed and remarked rational and irrational elements which Economic Nationalism embodied in modern China's history with the aim to provide reference to China's modern nationalism, stimulate public discussion, and make the academe research and attach importance to this problem.