Red Capitalists in China: The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change (Cambridge Modern China Series)

Viewing the evolving relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and private entrepreneurs, this book examines the implications of recruiting entrepreneurs into the communist party. It has given rise to the label of "red capitalists." Although many foreign observers expect economic change to lead inevitably to political change in China, this book reveals that China's entrepreneurs are willing partners with the state; not an autonomous force in opposition to the state. It has become a truism that continued economic reform in China will contribute to political change. Policy makers as well as many scholars expect that formation of a private sector will lead, directly or indirectly through the emergence of a civil society, to political change and ultimately democratization. The rapidly growing numbers of private entrepreneurs, the formation of business associations, and the cooperative relationships between entrepreneurs and local officials are seen as initial indicators of a transition from China's still nominally communist political system. This book, first published in 2003, focuses on two related issues: whether the Chinese Communist Party is willing and able to adapt to the economic environment its reforms are bringing about, and whether China's'red capitalists', private entrepreneurs who also belong to the communist party, are likely to be agents of political change. It has become a truism that continued economic reform in China will contribute to political change. Policy makers as well as many scholars expect that formation of a private sector will lead, directly or indirectly through the emergence of a civil society, to political change and ultimately democratization. The rapidly growing numbers of private entrepreneurs, the formation of business associations, and the cooperative relationships between entrepreneurs and local officials are seen as initial indicators of a transition from China's still nominally communist political system. This book, first published in 2003, focuses on two related issues: whether the Chinese Communist Party is willing and able to adapt to the economic environment its reforms are bringing about, and whether China's 'red capitalists', private entrepreneurs who also belong to the communist party, are likely to be agents of political change "This book focuses on two related issues: whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is willing and able to adapt to the economic environment its reforms are bringing about and whether China's "red capitalists," private entrepreneurs who also belong to the communist party, are likely to be agents of political change." "Comparisons with other countries, primarily in East Asia and Eastern Europe, historical comparisons with pre-1949 China, primary materials on contemporary China, and most importantly original survey data are used to help clarify the relationship between entrepreneurs and the CCP, the often intense debate over whether entrepreneurs should be allowed into the CCP, and the political implications of the growing numbers of red capitalists in China."--BOOK JACKET Challenges Of Party Building In The Reform Era -- New Institutional Links -- Appendix: Survey Design And Implementation -- The Politics Of Cooptation -- The Political Beliefs And Behaviors Of China's Red Capitalists -- Appendix: Multivariate Analyses Of Political Beliefs Of Officials And Entrepreneurs. Bruce J. Dickson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 173-183) And Index. Examines the evolving relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and private entrepreneurs. Although many foreign observers expect that economic change will inevitably lead to political change in China, the author shows that China's entrepreneurs are willing partners with the state rather than an autonomous force in opposition to the state ON July 1, 2001, the eightieth anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), party leader Jiang Zemin made a stunning proposal.