Why didn’t China make an independent transition to industrial capitalism?
Submitted by Гость (not verified) on Thu, 02/05/2026 - 17:38A pressing question of theoretical history is the question of why Europe managed to overcome the thresh-old of industrialization on its own and break out of the Malthusian trap, while China had to adopt Western experience for a long time and catch up with Europe? An explanation of China’s lagging behind in the late Modern period pointing to the specifics of the Asian mode of production or irrigation society, is useful, but not sufficient. A convincing explanation is that this is due to the shortage of certain resources and the underdevelopment of capitalism.