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jimbowen0306's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because I'm spending much of he next two years working in China, and felt I should have some idea about what the country was like. In this regard, the book is informative. It gives you a potted history of the country, how they see themselves and why they are how they are. If I had actually read this book before I arrived, I would probably have been better prepared for what I experieced here.
The strengths of the book lie in the explanation of the Chinese psychology. Their history and "distinctive beliefs" are explained pretty well here, and help me understand them much better. Should I ever have to deal with the "coming Chinese" when I move back to the UK, I think this book will help me understand them.
The weaknesses of the book lie in its' tendency to be slightly repetitive. Certain ideas (like Chinese conviction of their own superiority and their belief in Confucianism for example) get talked about repeatedly (and not just in the sections where they are rightly discussed). The first couple of times they are repeated you might find the idea useful (and allow it to stick in the memory because of that repetition). After that, you'll start thinking that he's mentioned this before and start wanting him to move on.
In addition to the weaknesses of the book, their are a couple of other problems that I had with the book's contents. First, I don't think that it will tell anything new to someone who knows a lot about China. Maybe this isn't the aim of the book, but I don't view myself as a Chinese aficionado, and I found myself thinking "Come on I knew that" a fair bit.
The other thing is that I found it depressing. I'm proud of being English. The book, however, made me more concerned that the Chinese aren't going to change. Their convictions about their skills and their premier position in the world, has made me more hawkish about China and globalisation. I am now extremely wary of what the Chinese are up to, and I think that probably wasn't the point of the book.
The strengths of the book lie in the explanation of the Chinese psychology. Their history and "distinctive beliefs" are explained pretty well here, and help me understand them much better. Should I ever have to deal with the "coming Chinese" when I move back to the UK, I think this book will help me understand them.
The weaknesses of the book lie in its' tendency to be slightly repetitive. Certain ideas (like Chinese conviction of their own superiority and their belief in Confucianism for example) get talked about repeatedly (and not just in the sections where they are rightly discussed). The first couple of times they are repeated you might find the idea useful (and allow it to stick in the memory because of that repetition). After that, you'll start thinking that he's mentioned this before and start wanting him to move on.
In addition to the weaknesses of the book, their are a couple of other problems that I had with the book's contents. First, I don't think that it will tell anything new to someone who knows a lot about China. Maybe this isn't the aim of the book, but I don't view myself as a Chinese aficionado, and I found myself thinking "Come on I knew that" a fair bit.
The other thing is that I found it depressing. I'm proud of being English. The book, however, made me more concerned that the Chinese aren't going to change. Their convictions about their skills and their premier position in the world, has made me more hawkish about China and globalisation. I am now extremely wary of what the Chinese are up to, and I think that probably wasn't the point of the book.
squirrelsohno's review against another edition
4.0
This book was assigned reading for me in a graduate-level Chinese foreign relations class. I didn’t expect much going in, but I was pleasantly surprised, both with the level of analysis offered by Jacques and with the readability. Like many students, I’ve been inundated for years with wordy scholarly pieces that make little sense to my homework-addled mind, but this book was actually fun to read, exciting and interesting with each turn of the page. It made me interested to learn more about China and its growth in the international arena. It’s by no means perfect (hence the 4 stars) but as a student looking for something exciting and new, it filled the bill.
Where it loses a star, though, is the fact that some of the offered analysis doesn’t seem entirely factual, more like opinion based on here say you might say. It doesn’t add up to create a truth, it’s just something Jacques threw in. From other reviews on Amazon I’ve learned more about Jacques and the basis behind his writing and pursuits, which could potentially lead me to my conclusion that bits were led more by his political leanings than by actual evidence. However, it did present a different viewpoint on the issue, and there is plenty of interesting facts and backed evidence. My professor seemed to be a big fan of this work, so maybe I’m a bit off.
Among all my mandatory reads for grad school, this was probably one of my favorites. While not entirely believable at times, it creates an interesting and engrossing look at the rise of China in the international arena.
Where it loses a star, though, is the fact that some of the offered analysis doesn’t seem entirely factual, more like opinion based on here say you might say. It doesn’t add up to create a truth, it’s just something Jacques threw in. From other reviews on Amazon I’ve learned more about Jacques and the basis behind his writing and pursuits, which could potentially lead me to my conclusion that bits were led more by his political leanings than by actual evidence. However, it did present a different viewpoint on the issue, and there is plenty of interesting facts and backed evidence. My professor seemed to be a big fan of this work, so maybe I’m a bit off.
Among all my mandatory reads for grad school, this was probably one of my favorites. While not entirely believable at times, it creates an interesting and engrossing look at the rise of China in the international arena.
paulgrostad's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting counterpoint to "The hundred year's marathon", but seems somewhat naive, and using some random and irrelevant comparisons with Western and other cultures/civilizations.
maitrey_d's review against another edition
4.0
When China Rules The World takes a hard look at China's rapid rise during the last 3 decades and what it means to the rest of the world, including according to Jacques, the declining West.
Martin Jacques is an economist trained in Cambridge (with a specialization in Marxism), now working as columnist for various leading dailies and he has also served as a visiting professor in several major universities in China, Japan, Singapore and the USA.
Thr first parts of the books deal with the declining West (mainly in terms of overall world trade, population, resources and a host of other indices) and some background in Chinese history. The section devoted to Japan raised many hackles as Jacques claimed that Japan was in terminal decline as the country had no idea what to do after it almost caught up with the USA in terms of GDP and other factors (sounds very half baked to me).
But the later sections of the book which tackle modern China directly, such as its phenomenal rise during the last couple of decades in terms of its manufacturing industries, share of world trade and recently, global finance is where Jacques shines. I liked the idea that the present government in China has more in common with its Confucian predecessors in China's long history rather than European style communism. He talks about almost everything including present clothing trends, Chinese food, and even Chinese attitudes towards racism, and what it might mean to the rest of the world.
Jacques also superbly handles Chinese relations with Latin America, Africa and of course, its own backyard and how China is beating the USA and Europe in nearly every way in these regions. Chinese investment and trade dwarfs all competitors especially in Africa which is providing all kinds of resources to hungry China.
I however didn't like some of Jacques ideas trumpeting China's uniqueness at being a "Civilization State". Sure Chinese history and what they derive from it is unique, as unique as say France's or India's or Kenya's history is from the rest of the world. How this entitles China to "extra-uniqueness" escaped me.
China is surely going to be a power to be reckoned with. And this is especially poignant since China will be the first of the "colonized" countries (my emphasis because although China was never really colonized like say India or Africa, it had severe restrictions put on it that made its situation akin to other colonies) rather than a "colonizer". And I'm sold to Jacques idea that China's sheer size and penchant for taking a long term view will make the world a very, very different place. However, I'm not yet fully impressed by Jacques summarily dismissing off the West, especially the USA as a complete non-player in the coming decades, even accounting for the 2008 financial meltdown. Sure, China is big and strong, but so is the West, especially the USA which is in for the long haul too.
I really loved the large number of charts, graphs and other infographics in this book, especially the ones that succinctly put across all the survey results (special kudos for these, most of the surveys look to be done by very competent and reliable authorities, and most of them are as recent as 2011).
Overall a satisfying read which takes an excellent look at China's rise, and what it might mean to the rest of us.
P.S. On India
Although this book is on China, Jacques handles India too, to some extent. Both countries as Jacques mentions repeatedly have a lot in common: long histories, humongous populations, and now, rapidly growing developing economies. However, India is nowhere close to China, and Jacques diagnoses it correctly, India "has a grossly inefficient and corrupt state" and an on and off "Maoist" insurgency problem in many of its states. More than that, India has simply not shown the will that China has, and lags behind in almost everything. At the same time, I would've liked Jacques to spend a little more time on India, at least as much space he devotes to Japan --if not the USA-- in this book. In my opinion how India and China deal with each other is going to become very important in the coming future, and I would've loved to read Jacques informed opinion on that. (The very fact that as an Indian, I seek Western opinions on two "Eastern" countries and their futures says a lot about Western power, and how it isn't going away anytime soon.)
Martin Jacques is an economist trained in Cambridge (with a specialization in Marxism), now working as columnist for various leading dailies and he has also served as a visiting professor in several major universities in China, Japan, Singapore and the USA.
Thr first parts of the books deal with the declining West (mainly in terms of overall world trade, population, resources and a host of other indices) and some background in Chinese history. The section devoted to Japan raised many hackles as Jacques claimed that Japan was in terminal decline as the country had no idea what to do after it almost caught up with the USA in terms of GDP and other factors (sounds very half baked to me).
But the later sections of the book which tackle modern China directly, such as its phenomenal rise during the last couple of decades in terms of its manufacturing industries, share of world trade and recently, global finance is where Jacques shines. I liked the idea that the present government in China has more in common with its Confucian predecessors in China's long history rather than European style communism. He talks about almost everything including present clothing trends, Chinese food, and even Chinese attitudes towards racism, and what it might mean to the rest of the world.
Jacques also superbly handles Chinese relations with Latin America, Africa and of course, its own backyard and how China is beating the USA and Europe in nearly every way in these regions. Chinese investment and trade dwarfs all competitors especially in Africa which is providing all kinds of resources to hungry China.
I however didn't like some of Jacques ideas trumpeting China's uniqueness at being a "Civilization State". Sure Chinese history and what they derive from it is unique, as unique as say France's or India's or Kenya's history is from the rest of the world. How this entitles China to "extra-uniqueness" escaped me.
China is surely going to be a power to be reckoned with. And this is especially poignant since China will be the first of the "colonized" countries (my emphasis because although China was never really colonized like say India or Africa, it had severe restrictions put on it that made its situation akin to other colonies) rather than a "colonizer". And I'm sold to Jacques idea that China's sheer size and penchant for taking a long term view will make the world a very, very different place. However, I'm not yet fully impressed by Jacques summarily dismissing off the West, especially the USA as a complete non-player in the coming decades, even accounting for the 2008 financial meltdown. Sure, China is big and strong, but so is the West, especially the USA which is in for the long haul too.
I really loved the large number of charts, graphs and other infographics in this book, especially the ones that succinctly put across all the survey results (special kudos for these, most of the surveys look to be done by very competent and reliable authorities, and most of them are as recent as 2011).
Overall a satisfying read which takes an excellent look at China's rise, and what it might mean to the rest of us.
P.S. On India
Although this book is on China, Jacques handles India too, to some extent. Both countries as Jacques mentions repeatedly have a lot in common: long histories, humongous populations, and now, rapidly growing developing economies. However, India is nowhere close to China, and Jacques diagnoses it correctly, India "has a grossly inefficient and corrupt state" and an on and off "Maoist" insurgency problem in many of its states. More than that, India has simply not shown the will that China has, and lags behind in almost everything. At the same time, I would've liked Jacques to spend a little more time on India, at least as much space he devotes to Japan --if not the USA-- in this book. In my opinion how India and China deal with each other is going to become very important in the coming future, and I would've loved to read Jacques informed opinion on that. (The very fact that as an Indian, I seek Western opinions on two "Eastern" countries and their futures says a lot about Western power, and how it isn't going away anytime soon.)
lassebirk's review against another edition
4.0
SUMMARY: As China overtakes the US on several fronts, most fundamentally by the size of their economies, the world will change. The world has been dominated by Western powers, first British then American, for centuries, so we have become so used to Western values being seen as universal that we are still not able to envision anything else.
Author argues that China is unlikely to westernize politically and culturally, so far it has shown practically no signs of doing so. Instead, the communist leadership - being not very communist in actual policies since Deng Xiaopeng - can be seen as a continuation of the values underlying China's five thousand years of being a "civilization state" (not nation state), namely unity, the state as a head of family, China ("The Middle Kingdom") as the centre of the world, the Han Chinese racially and culturally superior to others, the family and language as sources of identity instead of a nation state, and the low time preference rate when seeing oneself as part of a 5000 year history.
While China has many state owned companies, they are not protected by granted monopolies or regulations like in the west. They compete with domestic and overseas private companies.
China has nearly no civil society. There is just the extended family and the state.
In Chinese culture, the state has its owns sovereignty which does not rely on the consent of the governed. Its legitimacy stems from it continuing a 5000 year history. The West will thus have to accept that western-style democratic instutions are likely to always be limited in China, but that will not diminish its legitimacy in the eyes of the population. Indeed, the government continues to enjoy very high approval ratings among the population, a very high degree of legitimacy.
Author argues that China is unlikely to westernize politically and culturally, so far it has shown practically no signs of doing so. Instead, the communist leadership - being not very communist in actual policies since Deng Xiaopeng - can be seen as a continuation of the values underlying China's five thousand years of being a "civilization state" (not nation state), namely unity, the state as a head of family, China ("The Middle Kingdom") as the centre of the world, the Han Chinese racially and culturally superior to others, the family and language as sources of identity instead of a nation state, and the low time preference rate when seeing oneself as part of a 5000 year history.
The Chinese state has never been regarded in a narrowly political way, but more broadly as a source of meaning, moral behaviour and order. That it should be accorded such a universal role is a consequence of the fact that it is so deeply rooted in the culture that it is seen as part of the natural order of things.
While China has many state owned companies, they are not protected by granted monopolies or regulations like in the west. They compete with domestic and overseas private companies.
China has nearly no civil society. There is just the extended family and the state.
In Chinese culture, the state has its owns sovereignty which does not rely on the consent of the governed. Its legitimacy stems from it continuing a 5000 year history. The West will thus have to accept that western-style democratic instutions are likely to always be limited in China, but that will not diminish its legitimacy in the eyes of the population. Indeed, the government continues to enjoy very high approval ratings among the population, a very high degree of legitimacy.
oceanwader's review against another edition
5.0
Outstanding. Challenges prevailing Western views of China, it's culture, history, modern ascendency and how these will likely play out as China becomes a global power. Highly recommend for people who are learning about China for the first time and, especially, anyone with political ambitions.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘Western hegemony is neither a product of nature nor is it eternal. On the contrary, at some point it will come to an end.’
In this book, Martin Jacques argues that the continued rise of China will result in a different model of world power. Mr Jacques argues that China can achieve economic and political dominance without becoming a Western-style democracy and that, when it does, it will make its own rules.
In Mr Jacques view, China will exemplify an alternative model for development, one which is likely to spell the end of the West’s economic, political and cultural dominance. China is growing at a rapid rate, and is having a significant impact on the world economy with its demand for raw materials, its supply of manufactured goods and its role as the world’s leading creditor.
There are a number of different aspects of this book which make it well worth reading. I was particularly interested in Mr Jacques’s views on China’s economic strengths and weaknesses. Mr Jacques’s discussion of the modernization of Japan was particularly interesting: it provides both a basis for comparison and a likely contrast.
I have mixed feelings about this book: I enjoyed reading many of the points made by Mr Jacques, and the facts and figures, tables and graphs chosen to illustrate those points. For me, the major point is not whether (and when) China will ‘rule the world’. Instead, the discussion should be about the political, economic and cultural shape of a world in which China is the dominant economic power and political entity. Mr Jacques claims that: ‘In an important sense, China does not aspire to run the world because it already believes itself to be the centre of the world, this being its natural role and position.’ This view of the Middle Kingdom rests on thousands of years of history and culture, and on geography and size.
This book covers a number of important issues, and also provides a bibliography for those interested in reading more about China. Mr Jacques may not have all of the answers, but he has certainly identified many of the issues.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In this book, Martin Jacques argues that the continued rise of China will result in a different model of world power. Mr Jacques argues that China can achieve economic and political dominance without becoming a Western-style democracy and that, when it does, it will make its own rules.
In Mr Jacques view, China will exemplify an alternative model for development, one which is likely to spell the end of the West’s economic, political and cultural dominance. China is growing at a rapid rate, and is having a significant impact on the world economy with its demand for raw materials, its supply of manufactured goods and its role as the world’s leading creditor.
There are a number of different aspects of this book which make it well worth reading. I was particularly interested in Mr Jacques’s views on China’s economic strengths and weaknesses. Mr Jacques’s discussion of the modernization of Japan was particularly interesting: it provides both a basis for comparison and a likely contrast.
I have mixed feelings about this book: I enjoyed reading many of the points made by Mr Jacques, and the facts and figures, tables and graphs chosen to illustrate those points. For me, the major point is not whether (and when) China will ‘rule the world’. Instead, the discussion should be about the political, economic and cultural shape of a world in which China is the dominant economic power and political entity. Mr Jacques claims that: ‘In an important sense, China does not aspire to run the world because it already believes itself to be the centre of the world, this being its natural role and position.’ This view of the Middle Kingdom rests on thousands of years of history and culture, and on geography and size.
This book covers a number of important issues, and also provides a bibliography for those interested in reading more about China. Mr Jacques may not have all of the answers, but he has certainly identified many of the issues.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith