"The China Fantasy" by James Mann succeeds in thoroughly debunking the widely-held view that capitalism will inevitably bring democracy to China. Providing a brief historical account of U.S.-Chinese relations from the Nixon administration to the present, Mr. Mann makes clear that business opportunism has driven the agenda at the expense of human rights and democracy in both countries. Mr. Mann's decades of subject matter expertise have prepared him to present a concise and persuasive work on an important topic that should be widely read and discussed by policy makers and concerned citizens alike.
Mr. Mann's specific focus is on the public relations aspect of U.S.-Chinese relations. Mr. Mann contends that a succession of business-friendly politicians have sold the American public on what he calls the 'soothing scenario', or the prospect of a democracy that will somehow emerge as a result of China's deepening economic ties with the West. Mr. Mann explains that this rubric has provided cover for high-ranking U.S. officials who have often used their connections to smooth the way for multinational corporations to set up shop in China in order to exploit its abundant supply of cheap labor. However, Mr. Mann provides a number of counter arguments explaining why the soothing scenario is a highly problematic proposition, with perhaps the most persuasive point being that democracy could allow the masses of destitute Chinese peasants to easily undo the privileges that the relatively small Chinese upper and middle classes have enjoyed under the protection of the single-party system.
Mr. Mann alerts us to the importance of demanding China to enact democratic reforms sooner rather than later, when the Chinese economy might become too strong for outside influence to have any effect. Declining U.S. wages and plant closures caused by increased competition with repressed Chinese labor is but one well-known problem; the Chinese government's support of authoritarian regimes in other countries so that it can propagandize to its domestic audience is a lesser-known but perhaps more serious issue. While one would be hard pressed to detect a political bias in Mr. Mann's writing, the implicit lesson that capitalism can be wholly congruous with governmental repression serves to rebuke free-marketeers such as Thomas Friedman and provides grist for those who may be critical of globalization.
Interestingly, Mr. Mann makes a series of short-range predictions about how the media might frame its coverage of the 2008 Olympic games to be held in China. Mr. Mann believes that on the one hand, superficial news coverage will intend to pacify Western audiences while on the other hand, nationalistic themes will serve to paper over the reality of growing inequality on the Chinese mainland. The author also suspects that China will assuage the West with hints of reform that will probably never materialize while cynically parlaying its moment in the world spotlight to attract renewed rounds of investment.
I highly recommend this timely, insightful and important book to everyone.
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- Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2007
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Top reviews from other countries
- K-NineReviewed in Japan on May 30, 2007
More focus attention on human rights in China
- George BReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2010
Pretty Insubstantial Book
