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Loading... THE PROBLEM OF CHINA (original 1922; edition 1922)by Bertrand Russell
Work InformationThe Problem of China by Bertrand Russell (1922)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Shockingly good considering how little knowledge was available to Russell at the time. It’s quite depressing to read the last lines of this book and realize that most of Russell’s worst fears have come to pass since 1949. China’s military and economic strength, built on the back of imported techniques, have not been reconciled with a renewal of older Chinese civilization, but have instead mostly accompanied the thorough destruction of everything in which Russell found reason for hope. Rather than developing a model from which the West can learn, the modern Chinese government has taken all the vices of Western civilization to excess while excising much of what’s actually admirable. Here’s hoping that the Chinese people can one day take back their country and fulfill the dream of giving “mankind as a whole new hope in the moment of greatest need.” no reviews | add a review
History.
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HTML: Though it was penned nearly a century ago, current-day readers will find that Bertrand Russell's insightful critique of China is still surprisingly accurate. The important British philosopher based his arguments on his own extended stay in China, and the resulting analysis of the conflict between traditional culture and the rise of capitalism in the country is keen and multi-dimensional. .No library descriptions found. |
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It is a fairly concise analysis of the then-present political and economic situation of China, as viewed by a visiting Professor Bertrand Russell; he gives his own opinion and makes predictions as he sees events playing out. Some of the analysis and predictions were quite prescient; others look, in the light of much history, as naive as they indeed turned out to be (easy for me to say!) This was written c. 1921, so almost 30 years before the victory of Mao Zedong.
Some of his biting commentary on (especially) American culture seems just as true today; on the down side, some of his commentary on the development of Chinese economic progress seems incredibly... well, "European", even though he repeatedly lambastes whites for their caricature of Chinese culture. For instance, he says at one point --and I paraphrase-- that the development of more advanced technology and agriculture to save lives that would die of famine isn't worth it if it comes at the cost of culture: as hyperbole this is fine, but I suspect he half-way meant it. One wonders what the starving farm-worker would think.
A great, very accessible bit of historical reading, with much that is still relevant today. ( )