The Debate on Salt and Iron recounts the controversy over the government monopolies created over the production of iron salt and liquor. While these fiscal policies aimed to maintain a constant level of prices and create profits for the government, there was now less profit for private entrepreneurs which caused a lot of conflicting opinions. It is interesting to think about the fact that this is similar to the kinds of debates we have today regarding monopolies, funding the military, et cetera. The question of what to prioritize, tax, and more are the same kinds of concerns that are still happening today. When considering the idea of what is primary versus what is secondary, it is important to remember that none are necessarily unimportant, but rather, what is emphasized more. For example, when thinking about how to best make a country secure, if you build up the military, it could be at expense of other things like agriculture.
We are still having these same debates about what we need to prioritize, and while people want safety, prosperity, the ways of accomplishing this differ because there are often limited resources and funds. Though these are tough decisions, they are ones that need to be made.
This debate also focused on how too much focus on one area causes problems in other areas, such as Mao putting primary focus on industrialization while agriculture and farming suffer. Moving away from a more traditional agriculture economy because it didn’t generate a lot of wealth also brings up the question of when it is better to do something radical or instead, implement gradual change, and there are certainly advantages and disadvantages for both.