AI Is reviving Chinese Marxist economics
ATHENS — As China embraced capitalism, its leading universities adopted mainstream Western textbooks to mold their students’ thinking about the economy. “Most of my colleagues pay only lip service to Marxism,” an economics professor in one of China’s top economics departments confessed to me. “Only a tiny minority take Marx seriously.” That was two years ago. Today, the artificial intelligence…
In recent years, China's adoption of capitalism has led its leading universities to primarily use Western textbooks for teaching economic theories. Many professors in top Chinese economics departments show little interest in Marxist ideas, with only a small number taking the theories seriously, as admitted by an economics professor. However, the recent artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is providing a significant resurgence to Chinese Marxist economics.
Chinese Marxists have always been apprehensive about the country's transition to capitalism, fearing it might lead to the "rent trap" observed in North Atlantic economies. This refers to a period marked by asset-price inflation, a rapid slowdown, stagnation, deindustrialization, and social discord. As competition in productive sectors drives down profit rates, investors tend to gravitate towards wealth-yielding property for the highest risk-weighted return.
The greater this wealth chase, the higher asset prices rise, and the faster wealth transitions from industry to the rentier sector. Rent traps ultimately erode industry and transform once-distinguished industrial powers.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- AI Is reviving Chinese Marxist economics koreatimes.co.kr
