An incredibly important contribution to the history of development — it’s basically a story of the evolution of the single most significant （in terms of impact） doctrine and practice of development， namely the Chinese Communist Party’s turn to “reform and opening up。” Weber explains how a new generation of young Chinese elite cadres， who had been sent down to the countryside during the cultural revolution， came from that experience to realize that rather than class struggle， material development An incredibly important contribution to the history of development — it’s basically a story of the evolution of the single most significant （in terms of impact） doctrine and practice of development， namely the Chinese Communist Party’s turn to “reform and opening up。” Weber explains how a new generation of young Chinese elite cadres， who had been sent down to the countryside during the cultural revolution， came from that experience to realize that rather than class struggle， material development was the single most pressing imperative for the country， one rendered impossible by central planning。 These young economists unconsciously aided with the neoliberal critique of state socialism being promoted at the same time in the west， while retaining a conscious fealty to Marx against the neoliberal ideal of an unrestrained market economy。 The result was an argument in favor of greater use of market mechanisms and price signals for allocating goods， without for a second implying a withdrawal of party or state authority。 。。。more