Utopia and Modernity in China: Contradictions in Transition

The success of China’s industrial/technical revolution since the 1980s has been international market-driven and led by private capital. But this capitalist “utopia” sits uneasily with both traditional Chinese values and the socialism that has been the foundation of the People’s Republic since the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. Utopia and Modernity in China, edited by David Margolies and Qing Cao, examines the contradictions inherent in China’s attempt to achieve “socialism with Chinese characteristics” by promoting home-grown capitalism. The book attempts to deconstruct the realities of this system in practice, focusing on the internal tensions between traditional Chinese values, neoliberal capitalism, and the CCP’s vision of a transition to socialism in the 21st century. It offers an unusual insight into the complex cultural forces that are rapidly reshaping both China and world capitalism.
Book available from the publisher, Pluto Press.

David Margolies is Emeritus Professor of English at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of Shakespeare’s Irrational Endings: The Problem Plays, and edited Culture as Politics: Selected Writings of Christopher Caudwell.

Qing Cao is Associate Professor in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Durham. He is the author of China under Western Gaze, and co-editor of Discourse, Politics and Media in Contemporary China and Brand China in the Media.