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Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise
A thoroughly researched assessment of how China’s economic success continues to be shaped by the communist ideology of Chairman Mao
A Financial Times “Best Book of 2022”
Tied for the 2023 Axiom Gold Medal, sponsored by Axiom Business Book Awards
It was long assumed that as China embraced open markets and private enterprise, its state-controlled economy would fall by the wayside, that free markets would inevitably lead to a more liberal society. Instead, China’s growth over the past four decades has positioned state capitalism as a durable foil to the orthodoxy of free markets, to the confusion of many in the West.
Christopher Marquis and Kunyuan Qiao argue that China’s economic success is based on—not in spite of—the continuing influence of Communist leader Mao Zedong. They illustrate how Mao’s ideological principles, mass campaigns, and socialist institutions have enduringly influenced Chinese entrepreneurs’ business strategies and the management of their ventures. Grounded in case studies and quantitative analyses, this book shows that while private enterprise is the engine of China’s growth, Chinese companies see no contradictions between commercial drive and a dedication to Maoist ideology.
A Financial Times “Best Book of 2022”
Tied for the 2023 Axiom Gold Medal, sponsored by Axiom Business Book Awards
It was long assumed that as China embraced open markets and private enterprise, its state-controlled economy would fall by the wayside, that free markets would inevitably lead to a more liberal society. Instead, China’s growth over the past four decades has positioned state capitalism as a durable foil to the orthodoxy of free markets, to the confusion of many in the West.
Christopher Marquis and Kunyuan Qiao argue that China’s economic success is based on—not in spite of—the continuing influence of Communist leader Mao Zedong. They illustrate how Mao’s ideological principles, mass campaigns, and socialist institutions have enduringly influenced Chinese entrepreneurs’ business strategies and the management of their ventures. Grounded in case studies and quantitative analyses, this book shows that while private enterprise is the engine of China’s growth, Chinese companies see no contradictions between commercial drive and a dedication to Maoist ideology.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2022
17 people are currently reading
389 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 20, 2023
This is one of the best book I have ever read about Chinese Political Economy after Mao all the way to the present. But if I had to be honest this is really my first book on Chinese Political Economy after Mao ever in total. The book is very relevant to today and easy to understand. The chapters are well organized and they provide graphs and anecdotes from Chinese entrepreneurs. The structure of the book is as follows, a Mao idea, anecdotes from Chinese entrepreneurs on their experience with Mao ideals, research to back up the ideals, and implications to today... extremely brilliant. Highly recommend people to read this book.
January 30, 2023
One of the best books I’ve read on business in China. The author focuses on providing an unbiased analysis of the important Maoist principles and it’s influences on business strategy. The author ended the book encouraging people to step outside of biases and motivations to better understand the business environment. My favorite part was learning how national events, including the Cultural revolution and the Great Leap Forward have influenced business strategy.
January 21, 2023
“Mao and Markets” is an insightful, yet selective, interpretation of the recent political and commercial environment in China under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The authors – Christopher Marquis, Professor of Chinese Management at the University of Cambridge, and Kunyuan Qiao, a Cornell research fellow – leverage business surveys, financial reports, newspaper headlines, and other data to argue that Mao’s communist campaigns and nationalistic rhetoric “imprinted” certain norms and mores on China’s entrepreneurs (e.g., lower openness to international cooperation, greater frugality, and resource efficiency) that cannot be dissolved by Western entreaties or provocations.
However, the book faces some limitations. First, the authors selectively frame their arguments to frame the perceived upside of Mao’s legacy – almost to the point of being adulatory – without giving equal attention to some of its more adverse effects. For example, the authors argue that business leaders indoctrinated in CCP rhetoric are more likely to exhibit certain upright values (frugality, cost-efficiency, philanthropy), but they also briefly mention that their research shows those who experienced Mao’s social campaigns are more likely to be cynical of the rule of law, more likely to commit certain white-collar crimes like embezzlement, and less open to foreign investment. The authors also amplify state-owned enterprises as social goods for their effect on Chinese industrialization, ease of credit access, and workplace benefits, but gloss over their overly bureaucratic and inefficient business practices.
Additionally, in terms of its effect on modern Chinese society, the authors ascribe more influence on Mao as personality cult figure rather than the CCP, the singular vessel for his legacy, which has reacted to and been shaped by post-Maoist history. While “Mao Zedong Thought” still grips the CCP’s ruling philosophy, it has not survived without criticism. For example, the CCP has called attention to Mao’s “theoretical and practical mistakes” during the Cultural Revolution, and the party has “unswervingly” moved away from this policy since the 1978 third plenum. In other words, Mao is not an untouchable figure; his legacy has been discussed and criticized over the decades. However, the vessel for his legacy, the CCP, has been more influential in shaping Chinese society, as the authors of this book frequently show. It seems more plausible to view China through the lens of CCP dogma, which has been shaped by Mao, but remains a living artifact subject to other influences, such as Xi Jinping’s increasingly personalistic rule.
In sum, “Mao and Markets” is an instructive, yet incomplete, framing of modern Chinese society. It provides historical context for acceptable geopolitical and commercial relation with China. As the authors suggest, Chinese institutions are entrenched, and the population is indoctrinated in communist rule guided by Mao’s philosophies. The authors’ calls for “realistic engagement” with China is an important message for Western figures, who have sought without success to shake the country off this path. A clear-eyed 21st-century China relationship should be one of coexistence and competition, not coercion or cajoling.
However, the book faces some limitations. First, the authors selectively frame their arguments to frame the perceived upside of Mao’s legacy – almost to the point of being adulatory – without giving equal attention to some of its more adverse effects. For example, the authors argue that business leaders indoctrinated in CCP rhetoric are more likely to exhibit certain upright values (frugality, cost-efficiency, philanthropy), but they also briefly mention that their research shows those who experienced Mao’s social campaigns are more likely to be cynical of the rule of law, more likely to commit certain white-collar crimes like embezzlement, and less open to foreign investment. The authors also amplify state-owned enterprises as social goods for their effect on Chinese industrialization, ease of credit access, and workplace benefits, but gloss over their overly bureaucratic and inefficient business practices.
Additionally, in terms of its effect on modern Chinese society, the authors ascribe more influence on Mao as personality cult figure rather than the CCP, the singular vessel for his legacy, which has reacted to and been shaped by post-Maoist history. While “Mao Zedong Thought” still grips the CCP’s ruling philosophy, it has not survived without criticism. For example, the CCP has called attention to Mao’s “theoretical and practical mistakes” during the Cultural Revolution, and the party has “unswervingly” moved away from this policy since the 1978 third plenum. In other words, Mao is not an untouchable figure; his legacy has been discussed and criticized over the decades. However, the vessel for his legacy, the CCP, has been more influential in shaping Chinese society, as the authors of this book frequently show. It seems more plausible to view China through the lens of CCP dogma, which has been shaped by Mao, but remains a living artifact subject to other influences, such as Xi Jinping’s increasingly personalistic rule.
In sum, “Mao and Markets” is an instructive, yet incomplete, framing of modern Chinese society. It provides historical context for acceptable geopolitical and commercial relation with China. As the authors suggest, Chinese institutions are entrenched, and the population is indoctrinated in communist rule guided by Mao’s philosophies. The authors’ calls for “realistic engagement” with China is an important message for Western figures, who have sought without success to shake the country off this path. A clear-eyed 21st-century China relationship should be one of coexistence and competition, not coercion or cajoling.
April 27, 2024
Rounded up from 3.5
Useful for its selection of interesting observations and ideas (for example, linking the Third Front Construction of the 1960s to the expansion of the Belt and Road Initiative today).
The overall perspective is pretty mainstream-liberal, but the authors do at least understand the importance of evaluating China in its own terms rather than imposing a Western universalism.
The book gets the central idea of Reform and Opening Up: economic decentralisation combined with continued CPC leadership (as opposed to a shift to so-called capitalist democracy). The Chinese themselves have always been very clear about this - hence the Four Cardinal Principles - but an awful lot of 'experts' can't get their heads around it.
The pseudo-statistical approach (entrepreneurs born during the Cultural Revolution are 4.8 percent less likely to pay their taxes on-time etc) is faintly absurd.
Overall a worthwhile read.
Useful for its selection of interesting observations and ideas (for example, linking the Third Front Construction of the 1960s to the expansion of the Belt and Road Initiative today).
The overall perspective is pretty mainstream-liberal, but the authors do at least understand the importance of evaluating China in its own terms rather than imposing a Western universalism.
The book gets the central idea of Reform and Opening Up: economic decentralisation combined with continued CPC leadership (as opposed to a shift to so-called capitalist democracy). The Chinese themselves have always been very clear about this - hence the Four Cardinal Principles - but an awful lot of 'experts' can't get their heads around it.
The pseudo-statistical approach (entrepreneurs born during the Cultural Revolution are 4.8 percent less likely to pay their taxes on-time etc) is faintly absurd.
Overall a worthwhile read.
February 5, 2023
Extremely useful ten thousand for view of the myriad ways in which Maoism and Communism have influence the functioning of the modern PRC’s market economy. The authors do a good job showing the way in which ideology, events, and institutions all bear the mark of Maoism, for better or for worse. Understanding the extent to which markets are embedded in the Chinese case is obviously very important—they are tools of the governing regime rather than constituting a separate sphere. I think the book mostly focuses on process and practice rather than outcomes, which is a bit of a blind spot if you’re trying to parse out whether the whole system, you know, works (it doesn’t).
October 1, 2023
I think it is an interesting topic, but the final product was a bit underwhelming. It was selective, lacking critical engagement and analysis of its sources. The approach seems like a mix of tabloid/secondhand reports plus some fancy quantitative methods as window dressing. The historical context is extremely broad stroked and lacks critical nuances. Certain interpretation of the Party Materials maybe skewed, Mao’s quote was taken out of context… this uncritical approach somehow beats the dead horses and then produces a derivative conclusion. The book is overhyped. Anyway, I might be too harsh in this review, but the conceptualization of this book is very thin.
December 20, 2023
2.5/5
Totally mid - especially the first half
Explanation of Mao and China are super high-level, lack nuance, are obvious/don’t need to be read if you have any kind of family history/prior knowledge
But I guess the point is that the book is written for those with 0 prior knowledge, so fine
The writing is very clear and methodical, the conclusion synthesizes well and ties prior points together
Wish the authors did more synthesis at the end of each section as well instead of only in the last 20 pages, would make for a more engaging read
Totally mid - especially the first half
Explanation of Mao and China are super high-level, lack nuance, are obvious/don’t need to be read if you have any kind of family history/prior knowledge
But I guess the point is that the book is written for those with 0 prior knowledge, so fine
The writing is very clear and methodical, the conclusion synthesizes well and ties prior points together
Wish the authors did more synthesis at the end of each section as well instead of only in the last 20 pages, would make for a more engaging read
October 10, 2024
Good info on entrepreneur views in China but whenever they're not talking about the data the pages are filled with anti-China talking points and stereotypes. A bit disappointing but some interesting insights from the interviews
June 9, 2024
Enlightening book
Really love this book. I’ve read several books about the current China’s political-economic growth, but none of them are analyzed based on China’s side. This book is brilliant due to the China’s political and cultural views are deep explored, analyzed and presented very well. Thanks to Qiao and Marquis for their researches and presenting this book. Very knowledgeable and inspiring. Salute
Really love this book. I’ve read several books about the current China’s political-economic growth, but none of them are analyzed based on China’s side. This book is brilliant due to the China’s political and cultural views are deep explored, analyzed and presented very well. Thanks to Qiao and Marquis for their researches and presenting this book. Very knowledgeable and inspiring. Salute
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews