The Origins of Modern China; Is Trump “Lost”? America, Home of the . . . Squatters? | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution

About this episode

The episode discusses the violent origins of the Chinese Communist Party and parallels between Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong, followed by a debate on Donald Trump's political standing and economic indicators.

Unlike the romanticized tale the Chinese Communist Party tells of itself—long marches and a long game of outlasting and outwitting its foes—the early years of the CCP were ones of unrepentant violence and a rise to power made possible only with external help. Frank Dikötter, the Hoover Institution’s Milias Senior Fellow and author of the forthcoming book, Red Dawn over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity, joins GoodFellows regulars Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane and H.R. McMaster to discuss what shaped the CCP from the years 1921–1949, plus parallels between Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong in terms of amassing power, purging rivals, and practicing economics and geopolitics. After that: the fellows debate the assertion by a New York Times columnist that Donald Trump has “lost the country,” as well as how much faith to put in economic indicators, plus songstress Billie Eilish’s belief that “no one is illegal on stolen land.” Subscribe to GoodFellows for clarity on today’s biggest social, economic, and geostrategic shifts — only on GoodFellows.

People in this episode

Hosts: Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, H.R. McMaster

Guest: Frank Dikötter

Topics covered

• Chinese Communist Party
• history of China
• Donald Trump
• economic indicators
• geopolitics
• social issues

Keywords

• Chinese Communist Party
• Frank Dikötter
• Donald Trump
• economic indicators
• Xi Jinping
• Mao Zedong
• geopolitics
• Billie Eilish

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Times

Books & works: Red Dawn over China: How Communism Conquered a Quarter of Humanity

Places: China

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