Can centrally planned economy work

[iNow]

29 minutes ago, npts2020 said:

so the Chinese no longer use central planning

Incorrect 

29 minutes ago, npts2020 said:

or a you saying there are no longer famines in the world for the Chinese to avoid?

Incorrect 

[Ken Fabian]

@npts2020 China is not being run the way it was during Mao's time; it is far less isolationist. I don't think there has been any serious dangers of famine in China for a long time now; for one thing they have become major international traders who can afford to and do import food. But they have modernised agriculture and also export agricultural commodities.

[npts2020]

On 2/17/2025 at 1:46 AM, Ken Fabian said:

@npts2020 China is not being run the way it was during Mao's time; it is far less isolationist. I don't think there has been any serious dangers of famine in China for a long time now; for one thing they have become major international traders who can afford to and do import food. But they have modernised agriculture and also export agricultural commodities.

I would like to see a reference for any of this. I was always under the impression that Chairman Mao was beginning to end that isolation (mostly imposed by western colonial powers IMO) with his trade deal with President Nixon. 

[Ken Fabian]

@npts2020 Chinese governance and policy was never all the same under Mao - Mao's policies changed a lot - and yes, Mao was still around for the Nixon visit and by then sought to make China less isolationist, but China was still a long way from being the industrialised, trading nation it is now. Most of that happened post-Mao.

[npts2020]

On 2/18/2025 at 6:26 PM, Ken Fabian said:

@npts2020 Chinese governance and policy was never all the same under Mao - Mao's policies changed a lot - and yes, Mao was still around for the Nixon visit and by then sought to make China less isolationist, but China was still a long way from being the industrialised, trading nation it is now. Most of that happened post-Mao.

All true but I would argue two things. Firstly, I think China was already becoming less isolationist (largely necessitated by having to import foodstuffs to avoid famines which previously had been fairly commonplace) by that point and may well have gone the same path eventually, anyway, since the Communists saw that foreign trade was necessary. Secondly, if one concedes China is still a centralized economy (if not, when did it stop being one?) then it seems to me, one of the most remarkable economic transitions in history is due to central planning. BTW I would also point out that few nations have the same governance and policies they had several decades previously, especially dynamic ones.