The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu ILinebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
History
The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I
Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony
Sun, Yat-sen, 1866-1925. San min zhu yi
himself wrote.
This outline was originally prepared as a vast plan which could be
financed by the great powers, who would thereby find markets for their
glut of goods left over by the war. The loan was to be made on terms not
unprofitable to the financial powers, but nevertheless equitable to the
Chinese. Sun Yat-sen hoped that with these funds the Chinese state could
make a venture into state socialism. It was possible, in his opinion, to
launch a coöperative modern economy in China with the assistance of
international capitalism, if the capital employed were to be remunerated
with attractive rates of interest, and if the plan were so designed as to
allow for its being financially worthwhile. He stated:
Before entering into the details of this International development
scheme four principles have to be considered:
1. The most remunerative field must be selected in order to
attract foreign capital.
2. The most urgent needs of the nation must be met.
3. The lines of least resistance must be followed.
4. The most suitable positions must be chosen.(307)
He was not oblivious to the necessity of making each detail of his plan
one which would not involve the tying-up of unproductive capital, and did
not propose to use capital advanced for the purposes of the industrial
revolution for the sake of military or political advantage.
This may be shown in a concrete instance. He spoke of his Great
Northeastern railway system as a scheme which might not seem economically
attractive, and then pointed out that, as between a railway system running
between densely-populated areas, the latter would be infinitely the more
preferable. But, said he, “... a railway between a densely populated
country and a sparsely settled country will pay far better than one that
runs end to end in a densely populated land.”(308)
Even though he came to despair of having this scheme for the development
of China carried out by international financial action, the expediency of
his plans remained. He sought the fulfillment of this outline throughout
his life; it has remained as a part of his legacy, challenging the Chinese
people by the grandeur of its conception and the precision of its details.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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