dispatches from the new world of work

Must Reads, a Couple+ More

You M-U-S-T read Chen Guidi and Wu Chuntao's Will the Boat Sink the Water: The Life of China's Peasants. The book, an immediate mega-bestseller in China, was soon banned—but pirated copies have exceeded legitimate sales by millions.

Yes, I'm one of the ones who talks non-stop about China. And I doubt I'll stop. Nonetheless these two authors tell a compelling and gut-wrenching story about the 900 million Chinese left behind, leagues and leagues behind, as China's economy has soared. The story in and of itself is extraordinary—and the implication that "this must not/will not stand" is utterly fascinating. And, yes, on my recent trip to Norway and Sweden I read it in one sitting!

With much less gravitas, I recommend a couple of fiction entries:

JPod by Douglas Coupland is a matchless look at how today's generation is living and working. It is at once hilarious and compelling—and instructive. Ben, my 21-year-old stepson, raced through it on vacation, and then passed it to me.

Legends, by Robert Littell. I love thriller-spook stories. This tops Le Carré for me. Here's the Washington Post: "Littell has outdone himself [no mean feat—TP] with this dizzying, dazzling portrait of a spy who has so many identities—legends, in spook talk—that he no longer knows who he is."

Tom Peters posted this on 09/01/06.

Comments

Regarding China: the urban/rural split is a recurring one in the course of Chinese history. It has figured in the rise and fall of just about all dynasties. The fact that 900 million people are being left behind now by the economic revolution there does not bode well for social stability there in the relatively near term. The Washington Post (among others) has had a number of stories over the past year or two about riots in rural communities in China against land confiscation tied to industrial expansion.

Unless it is effectively addressed, this historic division will undermine, if not destroy, the current Chinese expansion. This division taps deeper sources than, say, consumer dissatisfaction. It is a primal Chinese divide.

That this urban/rural split in China has re-emerged so quickly and profoundly should be a red flag (ouch!) about prospects in China. How the Communist Dynasty responds to this challenge will likely also follow a historic pattern. It won't be pretty.

That's the beauty of having such a long recorded history: the patterns are recognizable.

Foreigners investing in China would be foolish to ignore these patterns and the persistence of these historic divisions. To borrow a phrase from Larry David, perhaps those investors drooling over prospects in China should 'curb their enthusiasm.'

Posted by Mike Stagg at September 1, 2006 11:54 PM