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Cadre Country: How China became the Chinese Communist Party
Since the founding of the Communist Party in China just over a century ago, there is much the country has achieved. But who does the heavy lifting in China? And who walks away with the spoils? Cadre Country places the spotlight on the nation’s 40 million cadres – the managers and government officials employed by the ruling Communist Party to protect its great enterprise. This group has captured the culture and wealth of China, excluding the voices of the common citizens of this powerful and diverse country.
Award-winning historian John Fitzgerald focuses on the stories the Communist Party tells about itself, exploring how China works as an authoritarian state and revealing Beijing’s monumental propaganda productions as a fragile edifice built on questionable assumptions.
Cadre Country is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the workings of the Chinese Communist Party and the limits of its achievements.
‘It takes decades of patient observation, experience and study of China to produce a book like this. Cadre Country is a must read for specialists and the general public.’ – Anita Chan, Australian National University
‘One of the most important books on China written since Xi Jinping assumed power, Cadre Country is a forensic and profound explication of the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party.’ — John Lee, Hudson Institute and United States Studies Centre
‘Everyone interested in China today should read this incisive analysis that explains exactly what China’s own leaders mean by describing their country as a “party-state”. Avoiding shibboleths like “totalitarian” and never assuming the inevitability of the paths China has taken in the past or will take in the future, Fitzgerald gives us a much-needed clinical description of the fundamental nature of Chinese politics.’ — Peter Zarrow, University of Connecticut
Award-winning historian John Fitzgerald focuses on the stories the Communist Party tells about itself, exploring how China works as an authoritarian state and revealing Beijing’s monumental propaganda productions as a fragile edifice built on questionable assumptions.
Cadre Country is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the workings of the Chinese Communist Party and the limits of its achievements.
‘It takes decades of patient observation, experience and study of China to produce a book like this. Cadre Country is a must read for specialists and the general public.’ – Anita Chan, Australian National University
‘One of the most important books on China written since Xi Jinping assumed power, Cadre Country is a forensic and profound explication of the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party.’ — John Lee, Hudson Institute and United States Studies Centre
‘Everyone interested in China today should read this incisive analysis that explains exactly what China’s own leaders mean by describing their country as a “party-state”. Avoiding shibboleths like “totalitarian” and never assuming the inevitability of the paths China has taken in the past or will take in the future, Fitzgerald gives us a much-needed clinical description of the fundamental nature of Chinese politics.’ — Peter Zarrow, University of Connecticut
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 29, 2022
Over the years I have read many books on 'what' occurs within China, very few are as good as 'Cadre Country' at explaining 'how' China actually operates. This is a compelling, confronting account that offers a very different reading of modern day China.
In the traditional account, China is a normal sovereign nation, one that happens to be ruled by a communist party, though it has reformed to enable significant capital markets to grow rich. It denies the public a say on the issues, yet there are clear responsibilities for the leadership (such as economic growth) which drive the political landscape.
In Fitzgerald's account, almost all of these claims are wrong. The title 'Cadre Country' one realises by the end of the book, should be taken literally. 'China' (a word only the CPC is allowed to use), is a 'defacto political nation' of around 40 million party loyalists, and ruling elite families. This 'Party-State' conquered the Chinese people in 1949 and remains, akin to a colonial regime, superimposed on top of the other nation. It rules by and for itself. It lives virtually distinct in life, from the services used and the food available to it, from the other nation. That second nation, the 'People-State' of 1.4 billion Chinese people are not simply prevent from having a say in how 'China' runs, they are not even part of the same system.
Though Fitzgerald does not raise this question, I came away from the book wondering if it is even meaningful to call China a sovereign nation. Its 1.4 billion people are not the foundation of sovereignty in the eyes of the Party. Rather, it is the fact they were conquered and remain subservient across an extended history which has granted the legitimacy of rule for the Party-State to remain in control. When 'China' goes into the world, especially under Xi Jinping, the explicit core interests sought are the interests, preservation and welfare of the Party-State. Not the People-State.
Like a careful detective, Fitzgerald builds his case slowly, allowing the reader to come to these radical conclusions at their own pace. Across issues such as the use of language, the availability of services, the role of the legal frameworks, migration, corruption, history and memory, he charts how the Party-State operates distinct from the People State.
Take the famous urban-influx of migrants, where farmers left their fields and moved into Chinese big cities, fueling economic growth. Fitzgerald cites studies suggesting there are at least 130 million such migrant laborers (up to 10% of the population), who while working in the cities are still legally treated as part of their former rural environments. As such, they cannot gain access to urban healthcare, education or welfare services. Absent secure housing or support, as many as 60 million children are left behind with grandparents in rural environments, or taught in near-illicit migrant schools on the outskirts of the major cities. These workers have contributed as much as 1/3rd of the total growth of China over the last few decades, yet they remain virtual foreign workers in their own country.
Managing two countries within one isn't easy, and Fitzgerald points to many points of tension. Notably, there's a cast-within-a-cast when it comes to the role of family ties. The Party-State is ruled by elite families, who explicitly invoke blood ties to appoint sons and daughters to key positions as a necessary element of their rule. Nepotism among the Cadres, the 40 million or so who make the 'Party-State' actually function, is however actively discouraged. And while many of the ruling families are billionaires, corruption has been cracked down on, within the Cadres under Xi Jinping. Not because it is 'bad' or may exploit the 'people-state', but rather because it began to undermine the loyalty and capacity of the Cadres in ensuring the survival and stability of the 'Party-State'.
Is Fitzgerald's account correct? I honestly don't know. I am not a China expert, nor even if I read 100 books like this could I be. He is one however, and even if it's wrong in parts, or pushes the line too far, it's a very helpful and compelling insight into the PRC. If this thesis is right, then other countries need to have - if I can be somewhat cheeky here - a 'Two China' policy. That is, a sense in every engagement with the PRC, whether they are dealing with the Party-State or the People-State, and how their actions may be interpreted or reflected by these two nations within the one entity we call 'China'.
I read because I want to know how the world actually works. This feels like one of those books that offers such a lens. Even if it's not the whole story, it offers a way of viewing which is powerful and compelling about a country we all need to know more about. It's also a very easy and quick read, a testament to the decades of careful thought and scholarship behind it.
Recommended.
In the traditional account, China is a normal sovereign nation, one that happens to be ruled by a communist party, though it has reformed to enable significant capital markets to grow rich. It denies the public a say on the issues, yet there are clear responsibilities for the leadership (such as economic growth) which drive the political landscape.
In Fitzgerald's account, almost all of these claims are wrong. The title 'Cadre Country' one realises by the end of the book, should be taken literally. 'China' (a word only the CPC is allowed to use), is a 'defacto political nation' of around 40 million party loyalists, and ruling elite families. This 'Party-State' conquered the Chinese people in 1949 and remains, akin to a colonial regime, superimposed on top of the other nation. It rules by and for itself. It lives virtually distinct in life, from the services used and the food available to it, from the other nation. That second nation, the 'People-State' of 1.4 billion Chinese people are not simply prevent from having a say in how 'China' runs, they are not even part of the same system.
Though Fitzgerald does not raise this question, I came away from the book wondering if it is even meaningful to call China a sovereign nation. Its 1.4 billion people are not the foundation of sovereignty in the eyes of the Party. Rather, it is the fact they were conquered and remain subservient across an extended history which has granted the legitimacy of rule for the Party-State to remain in control. When 'China' goes into the world, especially under Xi Jinping, the explicit core interests sought are the interests, preservation and welfare of the Party-State. Not the People-State.
Like a careful detective, Fitzgerald builds his case slowly, allowing the reader to come to these radical conclusions at their own pace. Across issues such as the use of language, the availability of services, the role of the legal frameworks, migration, corruption, history and memory, he charts how the Party-State operates distinct from the People State.
Take the famous urban-influx of migrants, where farmers left their fields and moved into Chinese big cities, fueling economic growth. Fitzgerald cites studies suggesting there are at least 130 million such migrant laborers (up to 10% of the population), who while working in the cities are still legally treated as part of their former rural environments. As such, they cannot gain access to urban healthcare, education or welfare services. Absent secure housing or support, as many as 60 million children are left behind with grandparents in rural environments, or taught in near-illicit migrant schools on the outskirts of the major cities. These workers have contributed as much as 1/3rd of the total growth of China over the last few decades, yet they remain virtual foreign workers in their own country.
Managing two countries within one isn't easy, and Fitzgerald points to many points of tension. Notably, there's a cast-within-a-cast when it comes to the role of family ties. The Party-State is ruled by elite families, who explicitly invoke blood ties to appoint sons and daughters to key positions as a necessary element of their rule. Nepotism among the Cadres, the 40 million or so who make the 'Party-State' actually function, is however actively discouraged. And while many of the ruling families are billionaires, corruption has been cracked down on, within the Cadres under Xi Jinping. Not because it is 'bad' or may exploit the 'people-state', but rather because it began to undermine the loyalty and capacity of the Cadres in ensuring the survival and stability of the 'Party-State'.
Is Fitzgerald's account correct? I honestly don't know. I am not a China expert, nor even if I read 100 books like this could I be. He is one however, and even if it's wrong in parts, or pushes the line too far, it's a very helpful and compelling insight into the PRC. If this thesis is right, then other countries need to have - if I can be somewhat cheeky here - a 'Two China' policy. That is, a sense in every engagement with the PRC, whether they are dealing with the Party-State or the People-State, and how their actions may be interpreted or reflected by these two nations within the one entity we call 'China'.
I read because I want to know how the world actually works. This feels like one of those books that offers such a lens. Even if it's not the whole story, it offers a way of viewing which is powerful and compelling about a country we all need to know more about. It's also a very easy and quick read, a testament to the decades of careful thought and scholarship behind it.
Recommended.
March 20, 2022
A very clearly articulated work making accessible the thought and reading of a long career. Well worth reading by anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of present-day China.
March 11, 2022
Four stars for the underlying research and theory. Got some very good insights into how the CCP operates (which is the same as saying how China operates), why it operates that way and what it all means or might mean. Pretty dry at times but worth it. Fascinating and depressing in a sense. Certainly leaves no doubt that the CCP (China) is totally and deeply committed to the loathsome, disgusting, pseudo social science that is Marxism and communism.
February 26, 2024
It's 1 am, I am on holiday in Japan, but I had to finish this book.
What a fantastic read! Fitzgerald brings up many well-known topics on China today and historically, and flips your perception of these topics on is head. It was really interesting to get such a fresh look at what we are seeing happening in China today and why. And also what happened before.
Are you interested in contemporary China? Read this book.
While phenomenal, the book did however bother me quite a bit at times. First of all, it is insanely dry at times. It is hard to combat when one writes about chinese politics and institutions, but come on.
The second critique I have comes from the fact that I don't get the idea that Fitzgerald gives a shit about the left. While he is good at pointing to what he means when he talks about communism and Leninism in China throughout most of the book. Sometimes it seems he has simply written a synonym for some leftist idea and says this is what China is doing. It annoys me because it's insincere, and because by being lazy like that one perpetuates capitalist realism.
4.7
What a fantastic read! Fitzgerald brings up many well-known topics on China today and historically, and flips your perception of these topics on is head. It was really interesting to get such a fresh look at what we are seeing happening in China today and why. And also what happened before.
Are you interested in contemporary China? Read this book.
While phenomenal, the book did however bother me quite a bit at times. First of all, it is insanely dry at times. It is hard to combat when one writes about chinese politics and institutions, but come on.
The second critique I have comes from the fact that I don't get the idea that Fitzgerald gives a shit about the left. While he is good at pointing to what he means when he talks about communism and Leninism in China throughout most of the book. Sometimes it seems he has simply written a synonym for some leftist idea and says this is what China is doing. It annoys me because it's insincere, and because by being lazy like that one perpetuates capitalist realism.
4.7
December 26, 2022
Good exposition of the way that China has been completely overtaken by the Communist Party at every level of organised society.
The thesis of the book is that the Party has adopted a cadre system of government where the Party is the State and all its activities are organised through cadres at various levels who carry out not just all functions of government but all organising functions of civil society too. The book examines, briefly, how this system came to be and, at more length, how it operates and the problems—and benefits—associated with it.
The book suffers in that you really need to have at least a general knowledge of the last 100 years of Chinese history to be able to make much sense of it, and at the end I still don’t have that much sense of who the actual individual cadres actually are.
Overall: recommended. A good look at how the repulsive CPC has taken over China and the problems and challenges that brings with it.
The thesis of the book is that the Party has adopted a cadre system of government where the Party is the State and all its activities are organised through cadres at various levels who carry out not just all functions of government but all organising functions of civil society too. The book examines, briefly, how this system came to be and, at more length, how it operates and the problems—and benefits—associated with it.
The book suffers in that you really need to have at least a general knowledge of the last 100 years of Chinese history to be able to make much sense of it, and at the end I still don’t have that much sense of who the actual individual cadres actually are.
Overall: recommended. A good look at how the repulsive CPC has taken over China and the problems and challenges that brings with it.
July 26, 2022
The Book Title Says It All
This was a very good political read, but not as good as some of my recent China reads.
This is primarily because of the content and writing of this book was quite dry.
I would sooner recommend Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping or Empire of Lies: The Truth about China in the Twenty-First Century.
Still, it was good to read. The title pretty much summarizes up the book.
3.8/5
This was a very good political read, but not as good as some of my recent China reads.
This is primarily because of the content and writing of this book was quite dry.
I would sooner recommend Inside the Mind of Xi Jinping or Empire of Lies: The Truth about China in the Twenty-First Century.
Still, it was good to read. The title pretty much summarizes up the book.
3.8/5
October 16, 2022
interesting but repetitive
This book would have benefited from some rigorous editing. Reducing the word count by a third would allow the messages to come across without the repetition.
This book would have benefited from some rigorous editing. Reducing the word count by a third would allow the messages to come across without the repetition.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews