Is China Exceptional? Growth, corruption, and democracy with Yuen Yuen Ang

In this podcast episode, Dr. Brian Wong (Assistant professor from Hong Kong University and a Fellow at Oxford Global Society) and Professor Yuen Yuen Ang (Alfred Chandler Chair Professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University) engage in a wide-ranging conversation comparing American and Chinese capitalism and corruption, why the US democracy is in trouble, and the trajectory of US-China relations. Ang points out that China's paradox of high growth and corruption only appears exceptional if one takes the idealized West as the benchmark. In fact, China’s capitalist evolution is more like the American experience than most people think. In both, corruption has evolved over time from thuggery and theft to more sophisticated exchanges of power and profit. She adds that the right way to promote democracy should be to celebrate its intrinsic benefits, such as empowering civil society, rather than based on extrinsic claims that democracy will always deliver growth.
Further reading:
"How exceptional is China's crony capitalist boom?", Project Syndicate, 10 May 2024.
www.project-syndicate.org/onp...
Or access ungated at SSRN, "Why has China's economy grown despite corruption and is now stagnating?"
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.c...

[@ruskoruskov3086]

What an amazing Woman....very insightful interview with two engaging people....a rarity in today's discourse....thank you very much to you both for sharing your knowledge, insightfulness & wisdom....

[@robjamieson8033]

This is one of the most eloquent explanations I've heard. Thank you.

[@buixote]

Wait... "western democracies eliminated corruption..."?! Seems like your guest hasn't been paying attention. One could point to Boeing as just *one case* where her premise totally falls apart.

[@claudejenny205]

Merci pour cet entretien de haute qualité

[@jianghu8431]

does it really take so long for the academia to realize the hollowness of the western narrative? a taxi driver worked this out long time ago

[@user-oe5jl2br6u]

Absolutely.

[@tongwu4667]

😂 politically correctness is very important in the US😂

[@user-nz8wm2ct4n]

Rubbish. Trying to look at China through Western-Hegemon's eyes.🤣