The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms (Harvard Contemporary China Series, No. 12) [Paperback]

Barry Naughton (Author), Joseph Fewsmith (Author), Paul H. B. Godwin (Author), Murray Scot Tanner (Author), Lianjiang Li (Author), Kevin J. O'Brien (Author), Tianjian Shi (Author), Martin King Whyte (Author), Merle Goldman (Editor), Roderick MacFarquhar (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674654544 | ISBN-13: 978-0674654549 | Publication Date: May 1, 1999

China's bold program of reforms launched in the late 1970s--the move to a market economy and the opening to the outside world--ended the political chaos and economic stagnation of the Cultural Revolution and sparked China's unprecedented economic boom. Yet, while the reforms made possible a rising standard of living for the majority of China's population, they came at the cost of a weakening central government, increasing inequalities, and fragmenting society.

The essays of Barry Naughton, Joseph Fewsmith, Paul H. B. Godwin, Murray Scot Tanner, Lianjiang Li and Kevin J. O'Brien, Tianjian Shi, Martin King Whyte, Thomas P. Bernstein, Dorothy J. Solinger, David S. G. Goodman, Kristen Parris, Merle Goldman, Elizabeth J. Perry, and Richard Baum and Alexei Shevchenko analyze the contradictory impact of China's economic reforms on its political system and social structure. They explore the changing patterns of the relationship between state and society that may have more profound significance for China than all the revolutionary movements that have convulsed it through most of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It is not often that a collection of essays by academics can be read with profit by specialists and laity alike. But The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms is an important exception. In dealing with what will be the most fateful politico-economic relationship of the 21st century--that between the United States and mainland China--most of the contributors write in unjargoned English. There is no better introduction to the complexities--Taiwan, human rights, military expenditures, economic reforms, trade--of U.S.-China relations than this volume.
--Arnold Beichman (Washington Times )

An excellent overview of the key areas of impact of economic reform on the Chinese polity and social groups through the eighties and more particularly in the nineties. Its focus on the non-economic aspects of reform is welcome as discussions of economic reform have tended to dominate compendiums in recent years. However, the book takes the economic reforms seriously and shows how they have impacted on the Party-state, affected notions of representation, restructured relations between the Party-state and society, and affected different social groups. It is an impressive tour de force of the reforms and their impacts and will be most welcome reading not only for the China specialist but also for those interested in transitions from communist rule in particular and from authoritarian regimes more generally.
--Anthony J. Saich, The Ford Foundation

The economic reforms in China have had very complex, sometimes contradictory, effects. There has been no suitable volume to which one could turn for a complete view. This work contains a comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of the reforms by leading scholars in the field.
--Parks M. Coble, University of Nebraska

About the Author

Merle Goldman is Professor of History, Emerita, at Boston University and Associate of the John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University.

Roderick MacFarquhar is Leroy B. Williams Professor of History and Political Science, and Professor of Government, Harvard University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 462 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674654544
• ISBN-13: 978-0674654549
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Account of China's Development, February 6, 2002

By 

"aloof_cow" (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms (Harvard Contemporary China Series, No. 12) (Paperback)

Mao Zedong had shaped China's political system so that it would be responsive to him. Even though the Cultural Revolution actually pitted portions of the populace against his own bureaucracy, he was always in control of this deliberate class struggle and believed the new culture that would emerge from this struggle would still be under his control. Mao's politics during the Cultural Revolution left China in shambles, later referred to "the ten lost years" in Chinese history. By 1976, it faced lagging agricultural production, an inefficient industrial system, high unemployment, sub par standards of living, widespread apathy and cynicism, backwards technology, and a high rate of population increase.

In the late 1970s, China launched a wave of economic reforms to liberalize China's economy and improve the quality of life in China. Such reforms induced an unprecedented wave of economic boom which has extended to today. However, such reforms have also come at the cost of a weakening central government, increasing inequalities, and fragmenting society. In The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms, the essays of various China specialists analyze the impact of China's economic reforms have had on its political system and social structure. The most important point that these specialists jointly raise is that Deng originally conceived his economic reform as a means to enhance the authority of the party-state. However, given the changing dynamics between the state and society, such reforms have ironically undermined the government's authority. Even though the party-state could still repress political dissidents which threatened the party or its leaders, it is increasingly unable to handle other pressing problems such as corruption, the increasing social and geographical disparities, agricultural stagnation, increasing lawlessness, and worsening environmental pollution. The party-state lacks the political institutions and infrastructure to regulate China's accelerating informal federalism, and as current problems grow to be more acute, the party-state will potentially face even greater disorder.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, February 15, 2009

By 

College Student "Chris" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms (Harvard Contemporary China Series, No. 12) (Paperback)

I bought The Paradox of Chinas Post-Mao Reforms (Harvard Contemporary China Series). Service and book was in okay quality.

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat useful, September 28, 2008

By 

Dikaios Lin - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms (Harvard Contemporary China Series, No. 12) (Paperback)

A collection of articles on China's reform. Some analyses are overdated, but others still have implication regarding future transformation. Assigned to my class when talking about 80s/90s ecopolitical transition in China.