Ronald Coase；Ning Wang

01202 learners

From the chaos of Mao Zedong’s later years to the explosive growth of today’s global economic powerhouse, Ronald Coase and Ning Wang’s *How China Became Capitalist* unpacks the unplanned, grassroots-driven journey that transformed China’s socialist system into a market-based economy. Unlike the top-down narrative many Western observers assume, the book reveals that China’s transition began not with grand government blueprints, but with desperate farmers secretly adopting household responsibility systems, marginalized urban youth launching small businesses, and township enterprises thriving outside state control. It traces pivotal turning points: Hu Guofeng’s stabilizing post-Mao transition, the 1978 truth standard debate that broke ideological shackles, and Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 Southern Tour, which silenced “socialist vs. capitalist” arguments and cemented market reforms. Coase and Wang highlight how these unorthodox, bottom-up “edge revolutions” gradually won official acceptance, creating a unique socialist market model that defied conventional economic theory, while also exploring lingering challenges that will shape China’s economic future.

Ezra F. Vogel

4.21186 learners

Ezra F. Vogel’s definitive biography traces Deng Xiaoping’s extraordinary journey from a young patriotic activist in 1920s France to the architect of China’s modern transformation. Detailing his political ups and downs—from purges during the Cultural Revolution to his triumphant comebacks—the book unpacks Deng’s pragmatic governance: his push for Special Economic Zones, the household contract system that revolutionized agriculture, and the bold normalization of Sino-US and Sino-Japanese relations. It explores his unyielding stance on national sovereignty, including the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework for Hong Kong’s return, and his efforts to modernize the PLA while prioritizing economic growth. Vogel also examines the tensions and trade-offs of Deng’s era: balancing reform with stability, addressing corruption risks, and navigating ideological divides. More than a political portrait, this work reveals how Deng’s leadership lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and shifted China from a closed, stagnant state to a global economic powerhouse.