StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "The Party -The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers" analyzes McGregor’s book "The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers" in which he facilitates a thought to provoke and moving investigation into the inner workings of China’s Communist Party…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.9% of users find it useful
The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers"

 The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers It is a fact that even in today’s world marked by a free exchange of information and news, there are but a few people who tend to have a viable cognizance of the innate aspirations, motives and machinations of China’s Communist regime. The Financial Times reporter Richard McGregor in his book, The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers does facilitate a thought provoking and moving investigation into the inner workings of China’s Communist Party. There are many people today who tend to believe that China does not happen to be a strictly communist country in the current times. However, if one goes by the investigations unraveled by Richard McGregor, though it is true that elements of capitalism did have infiltrated the Chinese society in the past decades, thereby allowing for a massive economic growth and progress, still in a political context China does tend to remain as Communist as before. Not only the modern China is run by the Communist Party in a Soviet style way of governance, but also that there is scarce political opposition to challenge its scope, as the Communist Party has eradicated all viable political opposition, long ago. As per McGregor, the ruling Communist Party retains a strong hold over media. It controls the courts of law and abnegates any religious freedom. It harasses the civil society and eliminates political unrest by sending political opponents to labor camps. Thereby, if one goes by McGregor’s book, The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers, the Chinese Communist Party is totalitarian and authoritarian to the core, though it has become vulnerable to capitalist evils like pervasive corruption and a deteriorating faith amongst the cadre, in the recent times (McGregor, 2010). McGregor in a very eye opening and thought provoking manner does tend to investigate as to how a political behemoth like China’s Communist Party that supposedly owes allegiance to communism and is totalitarian and autocratic in its scope did manage to retain control over a nation that has witnessed pervasive political, social and economic changes in the past decades. The thing that wonders the political analysts the most is that though a measure of economic freedom has infiltrated the Chinese economy, yet the Communist Party does not seem to lose any grip over the political and cultural moorings of China. As per McGregor, the Communist Party has managed to survive the changing tides by evincing tactical flexibility and tact in certain areas, while holding on to old style obstinacy and totalitarianism in many other areas in China (McGregor, 2010). For Instance the Party did allow for the infiltration of capitalist ways of managing and running businesses, thereby ameliorating the popular grievances by allowing for economic growth, while on the other side retaining a strong grip over the political direction that China tends to take. Thereby, it is but easy to conclude from McGregor’s analysis that the Communist Party is not a massive and bulky political contraption that is averse to change, but rather happens to be thinking and moving political machine that has the capacity to change with time and circumstances. The Communist Party holds on to its political obduracy by converting and recruiting some of the best talent in China, providing the political talent it grooms with the best of opportunities and possibilities for growth and progress (McGregor, 2010). This has not only portrayed the Communist Party as the most staunch and viable guardian of the ensuing economic progress in the eyes of the masses, but this also in a way does happen to motivate the masses to abdicate political freedom in lieu of personal rights and economic progress. However, one does remain curious as to how long the Chinese masses will abide by this cozy arrangement contrived by this biggest authoritarian machine in the world. Though the Western politicians and political thinkers did happen to be some of the most vociferous critics of China’s Communist Party, still it is a fact that not only the Communist Party has managed to survive unlike the Soviet Union and the totalitarian regimes in the Middle East, but it has also managed to outsmart and outlast some of its most staunch critics. Perhaps primarily this has happened because not only the Communist Party has infiltrated deep into the social structure of China, but so far it has also managed to pacify the masses by contriving a pliable cocktail of economic progress and political authoritarianism, which has worked till now. In that sense McGregor has drawn a really fascinating portrayal of one of the largest totalitarian political parties in the world in his book. The book is not only of immense relevance and importance for those who are interested in the innate politics of modern China, but does also happen to be a potent and rich source for those who have to deal with foreign policy. Today the Communist Party of China governs over one of the world’s largest economies, and does have a strong influence over global and local issues like climate change, world security and world economy, while scarcely having any organized opposition at home that could tamper with its clout and influence. Though the party has accorded much freedom to the people in the recent decades in the areas of personal rights and economic progress, yet inwardly it has been systematically consolidating its hold over the Chinese politics and economy by dominating the key areas. The Party has managed to stay in power for such a long time by retaining a dragon like hold over three main areas that define the Chinese polity (McGregor, 2010). The Organization Department of the Party does watch over all senior appointments made in China, thereby assuring that none of the political elites in China could tow a line that is politically averse to the Party. The Propaganda Department of the Party retains a control over the public and private media, thereby making sure that people come to know only that which the Party wants them to know. The amazing thing is that the most potent instrument of authority and control in China, which is the People’s Liberation Army, is an arm of the Communist Party of China, rather than being answerable to the government. Thereby, it seems that though the party has long ago dumped the aura of ideological straight jacket that it donned for many years, it has managed to maintain the authoritarian grip of essential communism. Not to mention that corruption has been rampant in the Communist Party of China in the recent years. Since it is the Party that controls most of the key appointments in China, it means that it is the Communist Party that is its own regulator. This not only means that political elites in China do tend to have a more than fair control over the political and business affairs, but also that they could dip into the national largess with minimal risk and danger. The irony is that in modern China there is no viable political alternative to the Communist Party of China. Thereby, if the political system and business dealings in China are to ever get more transparent and if there ever could be a real rule of the fallen and the marginalized in China, it will happen not irrespective of the Communist Party, but rather because the totalitarian and authoritarian Communist Party of China intends it to be so. Thereby McGregor’s book is a must read for any business concern or government observer interested in China and who intends to understand as to how things work in the Communist Party of China. References McGregor, R. (2010). The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers. New York: Harper Perennial. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers Book Report/Review”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/social-science/1701088-the-party-the-secret-world-of-chinas-communist-rulers
(The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers Book Report/Review)
https://studentshare.org/social-science/1701088-the-party-the-secret-world-of-chinas-communist-rulers.
“The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers Book Report/Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/social-science/1701088-the-party-the-secret-world-of-chinas-communist-rulers.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers

A Free Market Economy

2 China's economy According to Richard McGregor, China's economy is both a free market and communist economy.... In China, the communist party encourages ownership of properties by individuals.... In china, the system has been fundamental in strengthening democracy.... The rise in private wealth acquisition in china is attributable to the free market system.... For instance, the system promotes democracy in china....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Political System in China and Politburo Standing Committee

This party is recognized by the constitution of china, and the same constitution has provisions on how this party should be led.... These are the four pillars in which the communist party of china controls all the affairs of the Chinese.... However, the NPC is under the communist party, and it is therefore unable to carry out its own policies (Military of china, 9, 2013).... However, critics argue that the Chinese military is only loyal to the communist party, and not the people of china....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Interview on President Nixons Visit to China in 1972

As president of the United States, Richard Nixon travelled to the Communist People's Republic of china in 1972.... Following Chairman Mao Zedong's victory for the Communists in 1949 and the establishment of the PRC on the mainland of china, officials and soldiers of the vanquished Republic of china moved to Taiwan.... Some of these include the ending of the War in Vietnam, landing a human being on the moon and returning him to earth, and his visit to the previously diplomatically isolated… The latter is probably the most important, especially taking to mind that this was the first visit by an American president to China, as well as the fact that, as a communist country, China was a US enemy by default....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Government 2

the party does so as to ensure that the party fulfils the goals it had for the administration.... The majority party manages to control all the committees of the house by having more numbers in the house and in the committees.... Every member of the house requires his/her orders to speak....
3 Pages (750 words) Assignment

Mao and Dynastic History

Indeed, China's last dynasty started to succumb the moment Moa founded the Chinese communist Party in 1921.... Chiang Kai-shek, a commander of the Nationalist Army, ordered his army to pursue members of the Chinese communist Party.... ao was raised by peasant parents in a small village of Shaoshan in Hunan province within china.... He liked the artistic works of Kang Yuwei, a nationalist reformer in china, and admired the earlier political generations of Chinese history....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Will China Be the Next Superpower

An ancient civilization with an extensive tradition of dynastic and centralized rulers, China has been ruled by the Communist Party of china (CCP) since the successful overthrow of the Nationalist government in 1949.... nbsp;  Establishing a socialist form of government through the creation of the People's Republic of china, the Communist Party of china is avowedly socialist and sought to impart communist teachings throughout this vast country....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

The Great Firewall of China

The Chinese communist Party wants to enjoy the growth resulting from Internet technology and at the same time retain control over the free flow of information (McCarthy, 2000).... As a case the internet situation in china has been discussed and the measures which the government has taken to filter out information thus negating the western concept of free flow of ideas, thoughts, beliefs and information in general (Einhorn & Keenan 2002).... Several years ago, one of the main reasons that the Internet was not popular in china was the scarcity of Chinese language content on the Internet....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Comparison of Media Regulation in China and the United Kingdom

The CPD works in close collaboration with the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) as well as the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) to ensure that media content promotes the communist Party's political and economic doctrines (Southerland, 2007).... In fact, press freedom organizations from Western countries have described China's state news agency, Xinhua, as a propaganda tool that only serves the interests of the communist Party....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us