The Party: The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers

There is no need to add to the praise of McGregor's work other than to say he brought with him a Sovietologist background when he turned to the Chinese Communist Party that allowed him to see what many others have missed and that is the core embedded Leninist principles as the foundation of the CCP's mode of operation at all levels of activity. As the term Communist has been washed away in western dialog about the Peoples Republic of China McGregor never makes that mistake. His work is a brilliant analysis of the strengths and weakness of the system and he lists the many forecasts that have been made of its inevitable demise but it is worth quoting his final conclusions."It has always been easy to construct scenarios under which the Party loses power. A financial crisis was a favoured one for years. As it turned out, the great financial crisis of the early twenty-first century came to symbolize the eclipse of the west, and China's rise, rather than the other way round.... Within China, the country's distinctive system is not a source of concern. Rather, it is played up as a point of pride. The Global Times, the nationalistic tabloid owned by the People's Daily, the Party's mouthpiece, trumpets how China's rise has ended the post-Cold-War `unilateral' world lorded over by the USA. `The biggest contribution that China has made to world politics is that through revolution, reform and development China has shown the world that the Western model is not the only way to modernize,' it said in an opinion piece in October 2009. `China has also demonstrated that the non-Western world does not necessarily follow the West's footsteps.' The editorial captured a longtime article of faith in China that is only now becoming evident in a western world still recuperating from the financial crisis. The end of the Cold War did not mean the end of history after all. The Chinese communist system is, in many ways, rotten, costly, corrupt and often dysfunctional. The financial crisis has added a dangerous dash of hubris to the mix. But the system has also proved to be flexible and protean enough to absorb everything that has been thrown at it, to the surprise and horror of many in the west. In the absence of democratic elections and open debate, it is impossible to judge popular support for the Party with any degree of accuracy. But it is indisputable since Mao's death that the twin foundations of the Party's power-economic growth and resurgent nationalism-have been strengthened. China has long known something that many in developed countries are only now beginning to grasp, that the Chinese Communist Party and its leaders have never wanted to be the west when they grow up. For the foreseeable future, it looks as though their wish, to bestride the world as a colossus on their own implacable terms, will come true."This is 2014, the year another approach by Neo-Marxist analysts* list as the likely date of the collapse of the Chinese economy for its similarities to western capitalists systems.They might reevaluate all their conclusions regarding China if they were to see what McGregor was capable of seeing; a mixed economy with a dynamic non-state sector harnessed to a vibrant state sector like no other communist model.To quote again: "The Party's genius has been its leaders' ability in the last three decades to maintain the political institutions and authoritarian powers of old-style communism, while dumping the ideological straitjacket that inspired them. The Party's conscious retreat from the private lives of Chinese citizens over the same period had a similarly liberating effect on society. The dehumanization of everyday life that characterized traditional communist societies has largely disappeared in China, along with the food queues. In the process, the Party has pulled off a remarkable political feat, somehow managing to hitch the power and legitimacy of a communist state to the drive and productivity of an increasingly entrepreneurial economy.The visible hand of the state and the invisible hand of the market, far from being contradictory, are made to complement and reinforce each other."* See Endless Crisis: How Monopoly-Finance Capital Produces Stagnation and Upheaval from the USA to ChinaFoster, John Bellamy; McChesney, Robert W. W. (2012-09-01)

This is one of the most well researched and chronicled books on the impact that the Communist Party has over all things in China. The author has meticulously researched (from Chinese and non-Chinese sources) the topic and the major structures of one of the most closed, opaque political systems in the world.Even though the central leadership, standing committee memberships and politburo has changed (as of 2012), this is still highly relevant to many of the themes that the Party continues to struggle with and confront. This includes the growing middle class and income disparity, State-Owned versus Private Corporation governance, environmental issues, the major anti-corruption campaign underway. And this books helps understand why these dominate the party, and why the party behaves the way it does. And the author does this in a very effective manner - well organized, well researched, and well sourced. The chapters on the Shanghai Gang are also very informative as it allows the reader to understand the massive struggle Xi Jinping must of had (continues to have) in installing his key officials into key posts that will help him with his policy agenda.Highly recommend this for anyone doing business in China (or with Chinese companies), travelling or planning to live in China as this book provides a very well-rounded view of the key decision making body that is present throughout all aspects of life in this interesting country.

Politics in China can be often opaque to foreigners. In some sense it is surprising the lack of literature on the Chinese Communist Party and the means in which it functions, but as illustrated in this book, much happens behind closed doors. If one wants an introduction to the party as well as the way in which it governs and integrates itself then this serves perfectly. After reading this one gets a better perspective on how the party operates, the stresses that it deals with, how it has adapted in the past and what it is dealing with today.The Party uses both example and commentary to show by example how the Party is behind some of the major business decisions of recent history. It gives examples of how the Party directly influences some of the biggest corporates on the planet. In particular the rotation of the CEOs of the 3 biggest chinese telco operators was done behind closed doors without consultation with the public. It discusses Chalco's impact on disrupting one of the biggest potential mergers in modern business history (Rio and BHP), as such a merger would shift bargaining power of mineral prices away from consumer (china) and towards producer. Its actions need to be assessed through the lense of an entity who is both asserting and preserving its power as well as protecting its sovereign interests.The Party also discusses the internal stresses faced by the communist party. With the phenomenal success of the chinese economy and the wealth that has been created with growth comes greater competition between the lure of the party, and the desire for commercial wealth. This stress has been a source of corruption and rent seeking. With economies directed from the bottom up with preferential state lending, the position of power of local authorities can and is used for personal benefit. The party it is argued acknowledges and accepts this. It must deal with both punishing examples to show vigilance but realizing that removing the rents that are recieved with political power would remove the incentive to join and thus would promote instability.Overall this is a fascinating overview of how the Chinese Communist Party operates and what it has to deal with. It has had to adapt quickly, and the stresses it is dealing with will likely intensify over time. The way in which the party maintains its power is on a tightrope in which differences in opinion within the party are abundant. Nonetheless they have so far been able to form consensus and progress despite their differences. It is the ability to unify and come to consensus that has taken them this far, despite some near break points. Whether that will continue to be the case, time will tell, but as an overview on what is happening today and some of the solutions the party has crafted, this book is excellent. It is a must read to gain perspective into how the communist party operates and how it sees things.

Book goes into some detail regarding the mix of politics and culture that is Chinese communism.

I approached this book as a ‘foreigner’ curious to learn about the CCP. Coming from a multi-party noisy democracy like India, it was always a puzzle as to how a single party system would work, leave alone survive for 70 years. And of course, there were bits and pieces of stories and anecdotes heard over the years about life in China under the party.The author does an extremely detailed job on the topic, presenting the various parts of the CCP - in relation to topics such as businesses, army, history etc. The book is rich with anecdotes, real events that shot to national limelight etc to make us get a ring side feel of what transpired in the 15-20 years upto 2010.Would love to read a sequel that includes the Xi Jinping era.

very complete analysis of china capitalist version of communism' (1984)!!

Revealed a lot about the current and past history of the Party in China.I would recommend to everyone

The author uses to many anecdotes to try and carry the book. Interesting but not that informative.