By Merle Goldman, Harvard University Press, September 2005

A leading scholar of China's modern political development examines the changing relationship between the Chinese people and the state. Correcting the conventional view of China as having instituted extraordinary economic changes but having experienced few political reforms in the post-Mao period, Merle Goldman details efforts by individuals and groups to assert their political rights.

China's move to the market and opening to the outside world have loosened party controls over everyday life and led to the emergence of ideological diversity. Starting in the 1980s, multi-candidate elections for local officials were held, and term limits were introduced for communist party leaders. Establishment intellectuals who have broken away from party patronage have openly criticized government policies. Those intellectuals outside the party structures, because of their participation in the Cultural Revolution or the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, have organized petitions, published independent critiques, formed independent groups, and even called for a new political system.  

Despite the party's repeated attempts to suppress these efforts, awareness about political rights has been spreading among the general population. Goldman emphasizes that these changes do not guarantee movement toward democracy, but she sees them as significant and genuine advances in the assertion of political rights in China.

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Book Review:

Review
Wall Street Journal : [T]he past decade [has] not been given a historian's treatment... this is the most valuable part of Goldman's book. --Ian Johnson

China Quarterly : This book is the best that has been published in English on the subject to this day... --Jean-Philippe Béja

Review
This thoughtful and important book tells us much about the changing shape of the intellectual community in China, the concerns and political strategies of intellectuals, and their relationship with both the political center and the people. As one would expect with a veteran observer of Chinese affairs, Merle Goldman tells the story with a sharp eye and compelling writing. --Joseph Fewsmith, author of China since Tiananmen

A well-written and balanced portrayal of dissent and opposition in contemporary China, From Comrade to Citizen adds to the strong body of work that Goldman has produced throughout her career. --Bruce J. Dickson, author of Red Capitalists in China

About the Author:

Merle Goldman is Professor of History, emerita, at Boston University and Associate of the John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University.

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