socialist voices rising in china ??

[scarletghoul]

I've seen quite a few published pieces recently from China by people criticising the capitalist road. For example these pieces in the People's Daily -
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90002/96743/7014872.html
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90002/96743/6979388.html

Is it usual for such an official news source to publish such critical views ?

And also this http://chinastudygroup.net/2010/06/old-revolutionaries-on-the-present-upsurge/ is interesting.

The government seems to be allowing more criticism, in the wake of the mass discontent. Do you think ? Or are they planning to shift the economy to the left or something ?

[Blake's Baby]

Probably trying to co-opt the massive strike waves. Perhaps go for a more 'autarkic' economy - many of the strikes have been in foreign-owned companies. So if by a 'shift to the left' you mean state control not multinational control, you could be right.

[scarletghoul]

The articles don't talk too much about foreign domination though, rather the terrible exploitation of the workers.

[Blake's Baby]

But that 'terrible exploitation of the workers' (at least some times) is being done by foreign companies.

I might not be right that this is the game plan. Hence, 'probably... perhaps... could be...' in the original post. But I think it's a possibility that the Chinese ruling class is opening up. Doesn't mean it will necessarily take it, or even that it's part of the agenda. But it may be, and/or it can be used this way in the future.

I think it's interesting that you refer to the 'socialist voices' as coming from inside the official media. To me, the 'socialist voices' are coming from the strikers (not that anyone can hear what they're saying, but still...)

[Proletarian Ultra]

There is a strain whose line is basically "revere Mao expel, the barbarian". It's plausible that this might be the dominant popular form; I can't tell from here and I suspect Western commentators who portray it like that can't either. All I know is you can read plenty of good Marxist-Leninist commentary coming out of the Chinese New Left. If there are some populist-nationalists tailing them, so much the better.