World Scientific Publishing Company Why Only Socialism Can Save China

"The author's recall of Keynes's essay Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren and his critique of it are both relevant today. Keynes foresaw the end of capitalism once it had fulfilled its historical purpose, but left unanswered the question of what system would replace it. The moral challenge today is to prevent the endless recreation of scarcity by capitalism to justify its existence and by governments through war preparations. The author tackles these issues with insight and clarity, reaching bold conclusions reminiscent of Keynes' remark that his political sympathy 'lies on the extreme left of celestial space'. Perhaps China offers a better route to the future. Thoughtful and timely, this book illuminates questions that define our economic era." Robert Skidelsky This book argues that the true competition between the United States and China is not over geopolitical dominance, but over who can more effectively resolve the internal contradictions of capitalism. As both nations face mounting economic and technological pressures—from artificial intelligence and smart automation to biotechnology and global inequality—this provocative work reframes the US–China rivalry as a common struggle to transcend capitalism itself. Rather than portraying China and the US as ideological opposites, the book reveals how both are navigating the same systemic crises. It revisits the once-dismissed slogan "Only socialism can save China" and reexamines China's transformation from Maoist socialism to marketdriven growth. While China's post-Mao development model sparked an unprecedented economic boom in world history, it also deepened the country's entanglement with global capitalism, raising urgent questions about its future direction. Combining economic analysis with insights into technological disruption, the book offers a compelling rationale for socialism—rooted not in ideology, but in the material realities of our time. It foresees a post-capitalist era in which global leadership is defined not by dominance within capitalism, but by the capacity to move beyond it.