This process has been greatly assisted by the accumulation of experience, and the adoption of a process of trial and error when implementing reforms. This approach to reform stands in stark contrast to the previous approach, which involved decision makers attempting to construct a blueprint for a perfect society and then rapidly restructuring society to fit this ultimate goal. Such a thing could only be achieved via wide-ranging programs imposed on society using political power.

This ‘holistic’ approach to social reform is unreasonable, and can have serious side-effects.

Prior to reform and opening up, the Chinese government’s methods of reform and governance were akin to those of the holistic method. Many slogans leftover from that period make this vividly clear, such as ‘change the world’, ‘without destruction there can be no construction’, and ‘large destruction leads to huge construction’. While the ideal of a perfect society contained within these slogans aroused the good nature of the Chinese people, in the long run, it reproved the old adage that ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’. The idealistic and romantic blueprint program was designed to lead people to happiness, but resulted in hell on earth.

Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, the most beneficial development in governance, initiated by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, has been the employment of innovative methods in social reform. The old slogans which emphasised social change through upheaval have been replaced with more moderate principles, such as ‘wade across the stream by feeling the way’, and ‘boldly try, and if you fail, just correct’. These simple words actually have an impact on what methods of reform and governance are employed. Utopian fantasy has been replaced with science, and fanaticism with rationality. In the language of modern scientific methodology, China’s new approach to reform and governance as guided by Deng Xiaoping can be described as ‘trial and error.’ Instead of focusing on the ‘perfect social blueprint’ and proposing holistic social reconstruction programs, China is now focusing on the practical resolution problems and short to medium term goals in order to arrive at socialism incrementally. For example, the government hopes to gradually achieve a ‘moderately prosperous society’ by solving immediate issues such as the problem of inflation of food and clothing prices. Questions about what is Chinese socialism are now deliberately avoided. Instead, the content of socialism is defined negatively — poverty is not socialism, no socialism without democracy and so on.

The change of approach in China’s reform and governance was wise. The successes in Chinese development over the past 30 years show this conclusively. Even if China’s reform program has entered an area where things change profoundly, as some scholars suggest, ‘the method of trial and error’ which has guided China’s reform and governance is not obsolete. On the contrary, this approach remains basic to progress in China’s reform and governance.

Zhang Zhiming is Professor and Deputy Director General, Department of Partiology, Chinese Central Party School (CCPS), Beijing.

This article was first published in the most recent edition of the East Asia Forum Quarterly, Governing China