I want to read a book that argues that the hate we have in the West for China is wrong and that they are actually efficient and better off than many wester nations, but also read a second book that explain why China is bad and oppressive.
So basically two different books with two different views.
by MentalDespairing
2 Comments
That’s kind of a big request since that topic is a bit unwieldy. The closest might be to narrow it to biographies of mao. For a more sympathetic one try Philip Short. For less sympathetic, try Jung Chang.
It is worth noting that many of the differences in depictions of Chinese history or of Mao are disputes about fact not really takes (did maos Great Leap Forward kill 70 million or just 40 million?)
More broadly a lot of this isn’t something that is a difference of opinion, it really isn’t even something that has a lot of historical dispute (like maybe Israel Palestine). It is objectively true that the Chinese communist party is repressive and totalitarian.
But it also depends on what you mean in your question. There are some benefits to centralized rule, but also obvious flaws. one could say the same about democracy, but in terms of human rights the answer is pretty clear which is better. In terms of industrial policy maybe it is more mixed.
For an academic read, check Orientalism by Edward Said and Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson. There’s a lot to examine in the broader picture of nationalism, and ways in which western perspectives situate the “Orient” in relation to the “Occident”.