Club Lunch- China Watching: Why We Get It So Wrong

For centuries, westerners have sought a better understanding of China. Yet generations of inquiry later, we continue to get the place wrong and now seem farther from comprehension than ever before. In the nineteenth century, foreigners would say: “The longer a man lives in China, the less able he becomes to give information about it.” And nowadays one hears echoes of this paradoxical notion—an excuse really—issued by those who dare not attempt an analysis. Is China so difficult to grasp, or is the main problem our approach to the subject?

Paul Midler is one of the more controversial figures writing on China today. His first book, Poorly Made in China, was a widely read critique of the country, published at a time when the majority of China watchers predicted only a peaceful rise. In his latest book, What’s Wrong with China, Mr.Midler takes the analysis further, pointing out deep flaws that are of a social nature.