Public ownership and socialist forms of labor

Purpose Given the inevitability of both market economy and distribution according to work, a socialist market economy becomes inevitable. Consequently, socialist public ownership exhibits a series of significant differences from public ownership in the advanced stage of communism, and correspondingly, labor relations within the public ownership economy manifest in distinctive historical forms. Design/methodology/approach The socialist form of labor can be conceptualized as equal labor – an egalitarian relationship measured by labor, where labor equality is built upon the foundation of unequal labor capacities. Equal labor reflects both the historical progressiveness and the historical limitations of socialist labor; the combination of these dual characteristics constitutes the historical nature of socialist labor in a complete sense. Findings Due to the inherent contradictions within equal labor, its realization requires a special institutional arrangement called the “Public Property Agency System”. The Communist Party of China (CPC) serves as the “active agent” of public property rights. The leadership of the CPC, as an institutional arrangement, is embedded within the foundation of equal labor. Originality/value This article analyzes the deficiencies in relevant discussions found in political economy textbooks (socialist sections) over an extended period; reviews related academic research discussions and demonstrates the rationality and significance of equal labor through comparative analysis of different theoretical perspectives.