In collectivist villages in China, villagers can opt in to local initiatives to grow cash crops. They can choose how much of their land they will devote to these crops and how much they will devote to their own for market growth. They can also use how much ever of their land they would like for personal subsistence. This is part of China’s drive to increase common prosperity. China has numerous tools for doing increasing the economic outcomes for people living in many different situations. One such tool is collectivism. Let’s take a deeper look.

Not all Chinese villages operate on this model, but those that do thrive. This is owing the help from the state. The Communist Party of China send experts to evaluate the land and determine what crops of high value would grow well there. These scientists are called agronomists. Then, training centers are established and people are asked to opt in as much of their land as they would like to use. Then training and expertise is shared, both in terms of how to grow the new cash-crop but also how to access the markets in China and around the world to sell the new crop. Finally, after the crop is harvested and sold, the dividends from the collectivist work is shared depending on the percentage of land and so forth among the villagers.

Please note, that for ALL of these villagers, there is no housing cost. They all own their own home and there is no annual tax on their home. Medical care is also covered under the national health care scheme, as is pension.

Furthermore, because electricity, water, telecommunications, and other basic services are essentially public utilities (State Owned Enterprises), the cost of water, electricity, internet, and so forth are so low, they practically don’t impact income.

So, almost all of this money is just for spending or saving, making these families far better off. Often, after the first wave of success in a new crop, an increasingly larger share of local land is opted in, as reticent villagers become more eager to share in the new wealth.