Peter Lichtenstein – författare

As a Western economist studying and working abroad, Peter M. Lichtenstein witnessed first-hand China's tumultuous cycle of reform and retrenchment in the 1980s. From the early euphoric stage to the last and most brutal episode, Lichtenstein's book describes and explains the economics behind this cycle and ties together the economic, political, and cultural aspects of the reform era. The book also chronicles the achievements, problems, events and political controversies that led up to the Tiananmen Square debacle and the subsequent retrenchment away from the broad goals of reform.Organized chronologically, this work begins by detailing the reasons for the economic reform movement upon the death of Mao in 1976. In the mid-1980s those reforms began to encounter serious difficulties--Lichtenstein explains what these difficulties were and why they arose. He also describes how, in the summer of 1988, the conservative hardliners were able to regain political power from the reformers, setting the stage for what would happen eight months later in Tiananmen Square. Following this is an analysis of the development of the basic positions of the Chinese left and right, and Lichtenstein's first-hand observations of the retrenchment following Tiananmen. Concluding with a retrospective look at the reforms and retrenchment, this work will be of interest to professors and students of political science, international relations, economics, contemporary Asian history, and China in particular. It will also appeal to the intelligent layperson with an interest in current affairs.

Peter M. Lichtenstein believes that any social-economic theory of capitalism must begin with a theory of value and price. Dismissing the neoclassical school, he turns to post-Keynesian and Marxian economics with their coherent and consistent theories of value and price based on concrete objective circumstances. The development of these theories in the author’s aim because he believes that this approach comes much closer than neoclassical theory to capturing the essence of a capitalism economy. This book, first published in 1983, is addressed to economics students, especially to those studying microeconomics or the history of economic thought, and to economists seeking an overview of these issues.