China, Reform, and Poverty

[BobKKKindle$]

It is widely acknowledged that China has, in recent years, been able to reduce absolute poverty significantly. For example, this (http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/0,,contentMDK:20634060~pagePK:64165401~piPK:641650 26~theSitePK:469382,00.html) World Bank article notes that


Across China, there were over 400 million fewer people living in extreme poverty in 2001 than 20 years previously

Firstly, is this true? Have the conditions of ordinary people improved in the past decade? And, if so, how do we, as socialists, respond, given that this reduction had coincided with the implementation of market reforms? what does this say about the effectiveness of the state planning system?

[ComradeR]

Well I would say that all this proves is that, as we have always said, the only thing capitalism is good for is taking a backwards peasant based society and industrializing it etc., notice that most of these 400 million are from the rural poor. State planning can do this as well as long as it's done right otherwise it will end in failure.
I noticed that the article while stating that 400 million have been lifted out of extreme poverty failed to mentioned that most of these people plus millions more are still impoverished, also one must take into account that the gap between rich and poor is growing rapidly (the article does touch on this) which in the future will drive many more people into poverty, an unavoidable symptom of capitalism.