Cat Theory (Deng Xiaoping)

The cat theory () of Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader of China between 1978 and 1989, is a pragmatic economic philosophy which can be summarized by "it doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, if it catches mice it's a good cat (不管黑猫白猫，能捉到老鼠就是好猫)". Deng argued that a planned economy or a market economy are only tools for distributing resources and have nothing to do with political institutions. In other words, socialism can have market economy and capitalism can have planned economy. The cat theory became widely known within the Chinese society after Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992, and was an underlying ideology of the reform and opening in China.

History

Initial proposal

In 1962, Deng Xiaoping, then Vice Premier of China, quoted a Chinese proverb, "it doesn't matter if a cat is ''black'' or ''yellow'', as long as it catches mice" as an endorsement for the economic reform policy "sanzi yibao (三自一包, 'Three selfs, one contract', referring to household plots, rural free markets, self-financing and fixed output quota)". The proverb's origin can be traced back to the book ''Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' written by Pu Songling in the Qing dynasty. The economic reform was initiated after the disastrous Great Leap Forward which caused the Great Chinese Famine. On 7 July 1962, Deng elaborated further in an article, "How to recover agricultural production (怎样恢复农业生产)":

However, during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), the cat theory became one of Deng's "crimes", and he was purged twice by Mao Zedong.

Revival and development

The cat theory was revived after Deng Xiaoping became the paramount leader of China in December 1978, when he and his allies launched the "Reform and Opening" of China. After the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, the reform and opening program went into stagnation, and there were fears and concerns within the Chinese Communist Party that further reforms may turn China into a capitalist country. In response, when visiting Shanghai in 1991, Deng stated that "reform and opening up includes taking over the useful things of capitalism." Eventually, after Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992, the reform and opening program was resumed, and the cat theory became widely known in China and was accepted as the philosophy of economic reforms, but the "yellow cat" in the popular version of the phrase somehow became "white cat".

See also

* Deng Xiaoping Theory
* Socialism with Chinese characteristics
* Crossing the river by touching the stones
* Boluan Fanzheng
* 1978 Truth Criterion Controversy
* Seven Thousand Cadres Conference

References

{{Deng Xiaoping

Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party
Deng Xiaoping Theory
Economy of China
Reform and opening up