The Many Whispers From Yesteryear: How Has China’s History of Centrally Planned Socialism Shaped People’s Divergent Views of Justice Today?

In this article, we investigate what factors contribute to the divergence of people’s ideological inclinations in a post-socialist society. To this end, we analyze large-scale survey data from China to examine the relationship between the socialist past and individual ideological inclinations. The findings reveal a strong and direct association between people’s current political orientation and their formative-age lifeworld. Specifically, individuals who grew up in families within the Socialist Establishment exhibit significantly greater equality-oriented inclinations than their peers from families outside the Socialist Establishment, even long after the centrally planned economy was replaced by a market economy. In addition, we identify a gender-specific pattern that highlights the potential role of family socialization in transmitting the socialist legacy. We also find that individuals with families tied to the Socialist Establishment during their youth are more actively involved and supportive of the current Party-state. Overall, our findings suggest that centrally planned socialism may leave a lasting imprint on people’s ideological preferences in the post-socialist era.