The Party by Richard McGregor

The Party is McGregor's fascinating analysis of the history and current (as of 2010) reality of the Chinese Communist Party. For anyone who thinks that China is evolving into a more open, democratic and liberal society in parallel with its undoubtedly more capitalist, market-oriented economy, this is a sobering reality check. The Party is the essence of modern China, operating in the background of government, business and the military in ways that are surprising and troubling. Its prime directives are self-preservation and perpetuation, and at these it is remarkably effective. It brooks no opposition, no competition....certainly not from any real political party, but not from any other civil society organization, whether it be religion, NGO, business enterprise, etc.

McGregor traces the Party's evolution from Mao's mercilesss instrument, borrowed from Soviet Russia, for the renaissance of an occupied and humiliated China, with results that ranged from remarkable to disastrous. While he industrialized China, dragging it into the 20th C., the price for the citizenry was awful, with the highest being that paid by the estimated 35 million who died prematurely from 1962-1965 during famine brought on by his misbegotten collectivist agricultural policies. Hard on the heels of the latter came the Cultural Revolution, a harrowing episode for the intelligentsia that set back scientific and cultural evolution by decades.

With Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping emerged as the key figure in the Party. He was equally ruthless, but much more practical, and introduced the market reforms that fomented China's rise as a global economic titan. Notwithstanding this, it is sobering to recall that it was he who ordered the clearing of Tienamen Square by any means necessary. This watershed event molded the Party's approach to any threat, real or imagined, thenceforth, which McGregor teases out in his analysis.

McGregor points out that the Party's control over all institutions of consequence in China is partly due to its penetration of them through its cadres (there are "Party Secretaries" in each and, in the military, the party has what amounts to a complete parallel command structure) but, most importantly its control over senior-level appointments through a shadowy Human Resources bureau called Central Organization. Two other Party Organizations critical to its perpetuation are Propaganda, which oversees the media and Discipline, responsible for (very) selectively punishing party members who get out of line.

I'd recommend this book for anyone interested in the trajectory of modern China, but especially those looking at doing business there, as it raises very troubling questions about corporate governance, shareholder rights and business strategy in what is, arguably, the world's most important market.