The Party -The Secret World of Chinas Communist Rulers - Book Report/Review Example

 The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers It is a fact that even in today’s world marked by a free exchange of information and news, there are but a few people who tend to have a viable cognizance of the innate aspirations, motives and machinations of China’s Communist regime. The Financial Times reporter Richard McGregor in his book, The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers does facilitate a thought provoking and moving investigation into the inner workings of China’s Communist Party. There are many people today who tend to believe that China does not happen to be a strictly communist country in the current times. However, if one goes by the investigations unraveled by Richard McGregor, though it is true that elements of capitalism did have infiltrated the Chinese society in the past decades, thereby allowing for a massive economic growth and progress, still in a political context China does tend to remain as Communist as before. Not only the modern China is run by the Communist Party in a Soviet style way of governance, but also that there is scarce political opposition to challenge its scope, as the Communist Party has eradicated all viable political opposition, long ago. As per McGregor, the ruling Communist Party retains a strong hold over media. It controls the courts of law and abnegates any religious freedom. It harasses the civil society and eliminates political unrest by sending political opponents to labor camps. Thereby, if one goes by McGregor’s book, The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers, the Chinese Communist Party is totalitarian and authoritarian to the core, though it has become vulnerable to capitalist evils like pervasive corruption and a deteriorating faith amongst the cadre, in the recent times (McGregor, 2010). McGregor in a very eye opening and thought provoking manner does tend to investigate as to how a political behemoth like China’s Communist Party that supposedly owes allegiance to communism and is totalitarian and autocratic in its scope did manage to retain control over a nation that has witnessed pervasive political, social and economic changes in the past decades. The thing that wonders the political analysts the most is that though a measure of economic freedom has infiltrated the Chinese economy, yet the Communist Party does not seem to lose any grip over the political and cultural moorings of China. As per McGregor, the Communist Party has managed to survive the changing tides by evincing tactical flexibility and tact in certain areas, while holding on to old style obstinacy and totalitarianism in many other areas in China (McGregor, 2010). For Instance the Party did allow for the infiltration of capitalist ways of managing and running businesses, thereby ameliorating the popular grievances by allowing for economic growth, while on the other side retaining a strong grip over the political direction that China tends to take. Thereby, it is but easy to conclude from McGregor’s analysis that the Communist Party is not a massive and bulky political contraption that is averse to change, but rather happens to be thinking and moving political machine that has the capacity to change with time and circumstances. The Communist Party holds on to its political obduracy by converting and recruiting some of the best talent in China, providing the political talent it grooms with the best of opportunities and possibilities for growth and progress (McGregor, 2010). This has not only portrayed the Communist Party as the most staunch and viable guardian of the ensuing economic progress in the eyes of the masses, but this also in a way does happen to motivate the masses to abdicate political freedom in lieu of personal rights and economic progress. However, one does remain curious as to how long the Chinese masses will abide by this cozy arrangement contrived by this biggest authoritarian machine in the world. Though the Western politicians and political thinkers did happen to be some of the most vociferous critics of China’s Communist Party, still it is a fact that not only the Communist Party has managed to survive unlike the Soviet Union and the totalitarian regimes in the Middle East, but it has also managed to outsmart and outlast some of its most staunch critics. Perhaps primarily this has happened because not only the Communist Party has infiltrated deep into the social structure of China, but so far it has also managed to pacify the masses by contriving a pliable cocktail of economic progress and political authoritarianism, which has worked till now. In that sense McGregor has drawn a really fascinating portrayal of one of the largest totalitarian political parties in the world in his book. The book is not only of immense relevance and importance for those who are interested in the innate politics of modern China, but does also happen to be a potent and rich source for those who have to deal with foreign policy. Today the Communist Party of China governs over one of the world’s largest economies, and does have a strong influence over global and local issues like climate change, world security and world economy, while scarcely having any organized opposition at home that could tamper with its clout and influence. Though the party has accorded much freedom to the people in the recent decades in the areas of personal rights and economic progress, yet inwardly it has been systematically consolidating its hold over the Chinese politics and economy by dominating the key areas. The Party has managed to stay in power for such a long time by retaining a dragon like hold over three main areas that define the Chinese polity (McGregor, 2010). The Organization Department of the Party does watch over all senior appointments made in China, thereby assuring that none of the political elites in China could tow a line that is politically averse to the Party. The Propaganda Department of the Party retains a control over the public and private media, thereby making sure that people come to know only that which the Party wants them to know. The amazing thing is that the most potent instrument of authority and control in China, which is the People’s Liberation Army, is an arm of the Communist Party of China, rather than being answerable to the government. Thereby, it seems that though the party has long ago dumped the aura of ideological straight jacket that it donned for many years, it has managed to maintain the authoritarian grip of essential communism. Not to mention that corruption has been rampant in the Communist Party of China in the recent years. Since it is the Party that controls most of the key appointments in China, it means that it is the Communist Party that is its own regulator. This not only means that political elites in China do tend to have a more than fair control over the political and business affairs, but also that they could dip into the national largess with minimal risk and danger. The irony is that in modern China there is no viable political alternative to the Communist Party of China. Thereby, if the political system and business dealings in China are to ever get more transparent and if there ever could be a real rule of the fallen and the marginalized in China, it will happen not irrespective of the Communist Party, but rather because the totalitarian and authoritarian Communist Party of China intends it to be so. Thereby McGregor’s book is a must read for any business concern or government observer interested in China and who intends to understand as to how things work in the Communist Party of China. References McGregor, R. (2010). The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers. New York: Harper Perennial. Read More