Adam Smith in Beijing: Lineages of the 21st Century [Paperback]

'In the vast landscape of literature on China rising Giovanni Arrighi's Adam Smith in Beijing stands out as a beacon of bold creativity and as pursuing a sustained trail-blazing argument.' Goran Therborn, University of Cambridge. 'Arrighi is a student of the French historian Fernand Braudel, and the book has the range and ambition of Braudel's work' --Financial Times

This book is an impressive result; it will have a major impact...Arrighi argues his case in great detail - using an elaborate exegesis of 'The Wealth of Nations', which will send many readers back to that text in amazement' --Economic and Political Weekly

'Adam Smith in Beijing' follows, and completes, his previous volume 'The long Twentieth Century'. Together they constitute a stunning work of world history with theoretical and political intent whose intellectual roots lie in a mix of radical historiographical traditions --Radical Philosophy

In the late eighteenth century, the political economist Adam Smith predicted an eventual equalization of power between the conquering West and the conquered non-West. Demonstrating Smith's continued relevance to understanding China's extraordinary rise, Arrighi examines the events that have brought it about, and the increasing dependence of US wealth and power on Chinese imports and purchases of US Treasury bonds. In the 21st century China may well become again the kind of non-capitalist market economy that Smith described, under totally different domestic and world-historical conditions.

GIOVANNI ARRIGHI is Professor of Sociology at John Hopkins University, USA. His books include The Long Twentieth Century, and his work has appeared in many publications, including New Left Review.