CRITICAL REFLECTIONS ON CHINESE CAPITALISM AS PARADIGM

A culturally shaped Chinese capitalism has received much attention ove r the last decade, accompanied by a renewed interest in Confucianism a s the marker for Chinese culture. This essay argues against culturalis t explanations of the successful economic development of Chinese (and more generally, East Asian) societies. The flourishing of capitalism i n these societies, it argues instead, is best understood with referenc e to developments within capitalism globally. Rather than a source of capitalist development, a Chinese culture conceived homogeneously prov ides an ideological alibi to new developments within capitalism, as we ll as a means to check the disruptive effects of capitalist developmen t in Chinese societies. An insistence on Chineseness conceived cultura lly disguises, and seeks to contain, the social and cultural dispersal of Chinese populations, the so-called Chinese diaspora.