In this Marxist study of the Chinese market reform experience, Hart-Landsberg (economics, Levis and Clark College) and Burkett (economics, Indiana State U.) argue that contrary to the claims of some on the progressive left, the current Chinese reality is not one of socialist renewal but rather full-fledged capitalist restoration. They analyze the Chinese reform process as being driven by contradictions generated by earlier steps in the reform process and examine the domestic contradiction of rising unemployment, economic insecurity, inequality, intensified exploitation, declining health and education, exploding government debt, and unstable prices as basic preconditions of Chinese economic growth instead of transitional symptoms. They also place the Chinese experience within the context of East Asia as a whole, arguing that it has intensified the contradiction of capitalist development in the region. Annotation 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
