The Myth of Chinese Capitalism: The Worker, the Factory, and the Future of the World

The untold story of how restrictive policies are preventing China from becoming the world's largest economy

Dexter Roberts lived in Beijing for two decades working as a reporter on economics, business and politics for Bloomberg Businessweek. In The Myth of Chinese Capitalism, Roberts explores the reality behind today's financially-ascendant China and pulls the curtain back on how the Chinese manufacturing machine is actually powered.

He focuses on two places: the village of Binghuacun in the province of Guizhou, one of China's poorest regions that sends the highest proportion of its youth away to become migrants; and Dongguan, China's most infamous factory town located in Guangdong, home to both the largest number of migrant workers and the country's biggest manufacturing base. Within these two towns and the people that move between them, Roberts focuses on the story of the Mo family, former farmers-turned-migrant-workers who are struggling to make a living in a fast-changing country that relegates one-half of its people to second-class status via household registration, land tenure policies and inequality in education and health care systems.

In The Myth of Chinese Capitalism, Dexter Roberts brings to life the problems that China and its people face today as they attempt to overcome a divisive system that poses a serious challenge to the country's future development. In so doing, Roberts paints a boot-on-the-ground cautionary picture of China for a world now held in its financial thrall.

Dexter Roberts is an award-winning journalist and a regular commentator on the U.S.-China trade and political relationship. His prior speaking engagements include traditional news media outlets (NPR, Fox News, CNN International) as well as universities and institutes (George Washington University, Council on Foreign Relations, and the Overseas Press Club).

He is available for virtual classroom visits to courses that adopt The Myth of Chinese Capitalism. Please contact academic@macmillan.com for more information.

Author: Dexter Roberts
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 03/10/2020
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.40h x 6.30w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781250089373


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/27/2020
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2020

About the Author
Dexter Roberts is a writer, speaker, and analyst on China economics, business and politics. Previously he served as reporter and China bureau chief for Bloomberg Businessweek and was based in Beijing for more than two decades. He has interviewed numerous Chinese and foreign company CEOs, as well as senior government officials, and has reported from all of China's provinces and regions including Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mongolia and North Korea. Roberts has become a regular commentator on the U.S.-China trade and political relationship and his prior speaking engagements include traditional news media outlets (NPR, Fox News, CNN International) as well as universities and institutes (George Washington University, Council on Foreign Relations, and the Overseas Press Club).