Socialist Ownership by the Whole People and Commodity Production

Are there real commodity relationships among socialist enterprises owned by the whole people? This has been an important question on which Chinese economists have long debated. The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party called on us to act resolutely in accordance with economic laws, attaching importance to the role of the laws of value. In present circumstances, further theoretical discussion of the question of commodity relations among socialist enterprises owned by the whole people is of great practical significance if we are to utilize the laws of value more effectively and carry out the reform of the system of economic management. But long years of practical experience have shown this view to be at variance with the reality of socialist economic development. Those policies formulated according to this [erroneous] view have run into many problems in practical economic life.