What Saved us From the Historical Tragedy of Soviet “Reform”? Applying Marxist Economics to Guide Chinese Economic Modernization

This article argues that Chinese-style modernization can only advance in a sustainable and socialist direction under the scientific guidance of Marxist political economy. It contends that Western neoliberal and Keynesian paradigms are structurally incompatible with the theoretical foundations of the socialist market economy and constituted a central cause of the historical failure of Soviet “reform.” Grounded in historical materialism, the study emphasizes the determining role of production relations and ownership structures in the process of social reproduction. It demonstrates that the weakening of public ownership as the leading economic force generates income polarization, structural imbalances, and macroeconomic instability. The article further conceptualizes the socialist market economy as a dialectical unity between public ownership–based production relations and market circulation mechanisms. Within this framework, Marx’s theories of reproduction, capital accumulation, and value are presented as the scientific basis for macroeconomic governance, property relations, and China’s strategy of economic opening in the process of modernization.