In Wealth into Power, Bruce J. Dickson challenges the notion that
economic development is leading to political change in China or that
China’s private entrepreneurs are helping to promote democratization.
Instead, they have become partners with the ruling Chinese Communist
Party to promote economic growth while maintaining the political status
quo. Dickson’s research illuminates the Communist Party’s strategy
for incorporating China’s capitalists into the political system and shows
how the shared interests, personal ties, and common views of the party
and the private sector are creating a form of “crony communism.”
Rather than being potential agents of change, China’s entrepreneurs
may prove to be a key source of support for the party’s agenda. Based
on years of research and original survey data, this book will be of interest
to all those interested in China’s political future and the relationship
between economic wealth and political power.