Cheng-gang Xu 許成鋼
NTU & HYI Academic Book Series No. 15
National Taiwan University Press, November 2024
Publisher’s website – Chinese
Publisher’s website – English
About the book: This book explores the origins and evolution of China’s institutions and communist totalitarianism in general. Contemporary China’s fundamental institution is communist totalitarianism. Introducing the concept of ‘institutional genes’ (IGs), the book examines how the IGs of Soviet Russia merged with those of the Chinese imperial system, creating a durable totalitarian regime with Chinese characteristics. Institutional Genes are fundamental institutional elements that self-replicate and guide institutional changes and are empirically identifiable. The book first analyzes the rise of communist totalitarian ideology in Europe and how it led to the creation of a totalitarian system based on the Tsarist Russian IGs. It then examines the origins and evolution of the IGs of the Chinese imperial system, focusing on how these IGs combined with the communist totalitarian IGs introduced to China by the Comintern, enabling the CCP to establish a totalitarian regime in China. The book further discusses the institutional changes during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, analyzing how the hybrid of Soviet totalitarian IGs and traditional Chinese IGs gave rise to a Regionally Administered Totalitarian (RADT) system. It also explores how the RADT system facilitated China’s rapid economic development during the reform and opening-up period, not only saving the CCP but also turning China into a totalitarian superpower. The ascent of communist totalitarian China echoes Mises’ warning that efforts to halt totalitarianism have failed. Reversing this trend necessitates a thorough understanding of totalitarianism. The English version of the book, titled Institutional Genes: The Origins of China’s Institutions and Totalitarianism, is published by the Cambridge University Press.
許成鋼透過「制度基因」的架構，解釋中西憲政發展與極權演變的前因與後果。
本書探討中國制度和共產極權主義制度的起源和演變，並引入「制度基因」這個分析概念，以研究從蘇俄來的制度基因如何與中國帝制的制度基因融合，創造出具有中國特色且持久的極權主義政權。制度基因是不斷自我複製並影響制度演變的基本制度要素，是可以實證識別的。
作者首先分析共產極權主義意識形態在歐洲興起，並在俄國的制度基因基礎上產生出極權主義制度。然後分析中國帝制制度基因的起源和演變，著重這些制度基因如何與蘇俄共產國際引入到中國的共產極權主義制度基因相結合，使中共得以在中國建立極權制。接著討論中國大躍進、文化大革命時期的制度變化，分析在蘇俄極權制度基因和中國傳統制度基因的基礎上，如何產生出中國特色的區域管理的極權主義制度，以及這個制度如何使得中國的改革開放獲得經濟快速發展，不僅挽救中共，而且使中國成為極權主義超級大國。
中國共產極權制的大發展應當使人們回想起米塞斯近八十年前對遏制極權主義努力失敗的警告。要扭轉這一趨勢，深入理解極權主義是必不可少的一步。
About the NTU & HYI Academic Series: The book series, published by National Taiwan University Press, is a collaboration between the Harvard-Yenching Institute and the College of Liberal Arts of National Taiwan University. The Series publishes scholarly monographs in Chinese which make a major original contribution to the humanities and social sciences. Interdisciplinary studies are especially welcome. Submissions are encouraged from all Chinese-speaking regions and beyond. For more information about the NTU-HYI series, please visit the NTU Press website.