As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers are Transforming Everything

Although China remains nominally socialist, consumerism has become deeply entrenched, the ramifications of which will be considerable—and global—according to Gerth (China Made), Oxford University professor of modern Chinese history. He paints a vivid picture—and historical context—for the waning of frugality and the traditionally high rates of saving and the rise of pop culture, luxury-brand consumption and car culture, a burgeoning advertising industry, the ubiquity of Chinese counterfeits, and—more sordidly—the development of the largest commercial sex work force in the world, the theft of baby girls for adoption export, and the sale of essential organs. Gerth makes an arresting argument that Chinese consumption may be the panacea for the scrabbling economies of the West; Chinese demand for American and European high-tech goods, financial services, and other products might create jobs and economic growth and, in turn, lead to a stable, increasingly capitalistic, and eventually democratic China. Required reading for those interested in shifting global power dynamics and current consumption patterns. (Nov.)