Interview with Su Shaozhi, December 1985

Despite the proliferation of academic contacts between the United States and China in recent years, sustained public dialog is still a rarity. For this reason, the following exchange between Su Shaozhi, a leading Chinese political theorist, and six American writers is a notable achievement. Furthermore, the symposium spans a time period that includes Su's demotion from his position as head of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought (MLMT Institute) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The discussion covers a broad range of issues pivotal to China's efforts at socialist reform and contributes to current debates over Marxist theory.