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So far, Deng and his reformist allies have displayed an impressive blend of self-criticism and self-confidence in their attempts to balance a measure of freedom with control, unity with diversity, experimentation with tradition. Their success at opening to the outside world a country that has long lived behind walls both great and small has been remarkable. The people have seized their new opportunities with the spirit and skill shown by the industrious Overseas Chinese. But the very success of reform could invite trouble as the initial heady effects of the transition subside. "Suppose in 15 or 20 years they haven't met their goals," says a senior Western diplomat. "Suppose factionalism gets in the way. Suppose population growth gets out of hand. Suppose energy and transportation begin to prevent the economy from growing. The death of Deng won't matter too much. But I worry about the future."
Such concern could mount as long as the government pursues a policy of trial and error, one day stressing a capitalist slogan ("To Get Rich Is Glorious"), the next a Communist one ("Sacrifice for Socialism"). The most urgent priority of what some Chinese call Deng's "cultureless (materialistic) revolution" is to find a new dynamic for China that can help ensure the stability of its society even when the inevitable economic and political disappointments occur. The pragmatists have succeeded in brushing off the ashes of Maoism. They must now find a way of enabling the Middle Kingdom to advance at last along a middle way.
FOOTNOTE: *The original Eight Evil Winds, designated in 1951 and '52, were corruption, waste, bureaucracy, bribery, tax evasion, theft of state property, cheating on government contracts and stealing economic information.