96 SOCIAL SCIENTIST before Mao's death with many difficult questions coming to the forefront. Can modern industry be developed without allowing the gap between the town and the country to widen again? Can the required expertise and skilled manpower be developed without strengthening material incentives and encouraging greater specialization? Can imports from other countries be increased without eroding the principle of self-reliance? In the absence of Mao's personal charisma, his strong commitment to ideological motivation and his political ability to seek sacrifices from the population., the new leaders of China may have to rely a little more on material incentives and technical considerations to seek their immediate objectives. This shift to moderate policies will naturally be resisted by those who are strongly opposed to any dilution of the ideological approach. There will be considerable controversy in the coming years over specific issues of policy and over the approach as a whole. Whether or not this controversy will undermine the system as a whole will depend very much on the ability of the leadership to maintain the right balance between the two approaches. The manner in which the new Chinese leaders are seeking to achieve this balance is at least partly illustrated by the second agricultural conference on ^Learning from Tachai" held in December 1976. The conference was attended by 5000 delegates from all parts of the country including the top party leadership. Its declared purpose was to consolidate the lessons of the first agricultural conference held in October 1975 since these had been distorted by the "Gang of Four". The convening of a national conference on agriculture, within two months of the change in national leadership, however, also underlines the fact that China intends to push for modern industry without minimizing the importance of rural development. More than 80 per cent of China's population still live in rural areas and the basic needs for food, clothing and simple consumer goods can be met only through continued progress in agriculture and rural industries. But within this re-emphasis on agricultuie, the conference promised more state assistance to supplement the self-help programmes of the rural population. There have also been reports of wage increases for industrial workers and greater opportunities for technical education. These shifts towards moderate policies can, of course, go too far if they recreate major differences in life styles or upset the classless nature of the Chinese society. But it would be naive to assume that these shifts already imply a basic change in the Chinese system or the end of Mao's political philosophy. At the same time future efforts of the Chinese leaders to restore the ^balance" will require continued reliance on Mao's teachings presented under new ideological labels or special campaigns which outsiders may not easily appreciate. [This article forms part of the, authors forthcoming book. Rural Poverty: The Chinese Solution. ]