The Household Responsibility System, Karl Marx’s Theory of Property and Antony M. Honoré’s Concept of Ownership

Meng, Gaofeng

Abstract

The Household Responsibility System (HRS) has improved agricultural productivity and promoted economic growth and thus relieved poverty in the rural population of China. However, the prevailing assumptions about its nature are that it was the result of de-collectivization and privatization (or at least semi-privatization) of land and thus an adaptation of capitalism or semi-capitalism. Moreover, the property rights structure of the HRS in China is also often assumed to be ambiguous and insecure. Grasping the principal characteristics of the HRS requires historical analysis of its origin, development and eventual legislation and institutionalization. Marx's theory of property is the key to understanding the institutional change from the Commune System to the HRS. It reveals that the HRS is one kind of “individual property” that Marx envisioned in post-capitalist society. Antony M. Honoré's theoretical framework of ownership is usefully viewed as a development of Marx's theory; within that framework, the HRS emerges as a kind of “split ownership” and its property rights structure can be judged to be well-defined.

Citation

Meng, G. (2019). The Household Responsibility System, Karl Marx’s Theory of Property and Antony M. Honoré’s Concept of Ownership. Science & society (New York, N.Y. 1936), 83(3), 300-326. https://doi.org/10.1521/siso.2019.83.3.300

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 18, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jan 10, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 10, 2022
• Print ISSN: 0036-8237
• Electronic ISSN: 1943-2801
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 83
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 300-326
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1521/siso.2019.83.3.300
• Keywords: Marx on property, Commune System, Household ; Responsibility System, Chinese agriculture, Honoré
• Related Public URLs: https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/pdf/10.1521/siso.2019.83.3.300