Red Cat, White Cat: China and the Contradictions of "Market Socialism"

by Robert Weil

"Robert Weil has written a brilliant, powerfully argued book that cuts through the hogwash pouring from the West and from China about the 'miracle' of the Deng reforms. Weil shows how Deng's use of 'capitalism to build socialism' has resulted in the use of 'socialism to build capitalism.' This is powerful stuff, must-reading for all those who care about the future of humanity."
--William Hinton

Genres: China, Politics, Economics

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jeff McLeod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice snapshot of the chaotic state of reform in the 90s, emphasizes contradictions both domestically and internationally, with emphasis on refuting predominant U.S. views of the time. Nice defense of Mao's legacy. Correctly describes the tensions inherent in state-guided capitalist development, which for China relied heavily on FDI while simultaneously having to mitigate the inevitable instabilities and limitations this would bring in terms of linkages to the global capitalist system. Also good emphasis on the mutually dependent U.S. - China trade relationship, where both countries gesture at hostility, but whose national capitalists are so dependent on one another that economic brinkmanship has to be kept in check to a great extent. A major problem with the book is that it portrays the capitalist transition as entirely a result of policy choices by the Dengist faction in the CCP; I'm convinced at this point that it was much more complicated than that. But for what it is, it was a fun read.

[abclaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review forthcoming.