Disorganizing China

Eddy U teaches in the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney.

"Through extensive interviews and archival research, U reconstructs the concerns and priorities of a war-torn Shanghai as the triumphant Communists marched in to restructure the "old" society. An illuminating work that drives home the tragedies of Mao's over-reaching ambitions when lofty designs encountered social realities." - Wen-hsin Yeh, Director, Institute of East Asian Studies and Richard H. and Laurie C. Morrison Professor in History, University of California (Berkeley) "Overall, U's Disorganizing China presents a well-researched and theorized case of bureaucracy in China during the Mao era that both critiques established interpretations of the decline of existing socialisms and provides much-needed insight into the day-to-day running of Shanghai's teaching faculty." - Jason Young (New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies) "In this excellent book Eddy U brings together a deep understanding of post-1949 China and an innovative approach to a central issue of sociological theory. In exposing the misapplication of Weberian concepts to China and other Soviet-type systems, U both develops the intriguing idea of 'counter-bureaucracy' and demonstrates how a powerful if brittle organizational system carried the seeds of its own destruction." - Frederick Teiwes (University of Sydney) "Disorganizing China is one of the most powerful analyses of early Maoist China yet published. Drawing on previously untapped archival material and using sophisticated analysis, this disturbing and brilliant book will appeal to historians and sociologists alike. This is a thrillingly acute and serious piece of work." - Rana Mitter (Oxford University) "In elegantly written prose, U challenges established views on China and other Soviet-type societies, brilliantly arguing these regimes are not bureaucratic enough! His notion of 'counter-bureaucracy' will fundamentally transform the way we look at state socialism and its demise." - Ching Kwan Lee (University of Michigan) "Clear and to the point, Disorganizing China provides a valuable window into the nature and problems of everyday administration in Marxist-Leninist polities. A challening contribution to China studies, studies of socialist regimes, and social theory, it provides a reasoned, empirically grounded contribution to ongoing debates over the meaning of state socialism's failures and the promise, or not, of neo-liberal economic policies for transitional economies." - Timothy Cheek (University of British Columbia)

• Contents List of Tables Preface and Acknowledgements 1Socialism and Counter-Bureaucracy 2Shortages of Expertise 3Political Domination and its Discontents 4Income Inequities 5The House of Deviants 6Campuses in Distress 7Unsustainable Socialist Systems 8Rethinking Socialism Appendix: Backgrounds of Informants Notes References Index