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The Engineering State - American Affairs Journal

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In American politics, discourse on China is ideological and one-dimensional, lacking in actual grounding in how this vast civilization-state actually works. I am optimistic that Breakneck will help move the national debate to a more nuanced understanding of China, and one that can inform the development of better industrial policy in the United States. The cultural diagnoses in Breakneck offer fertile ground to inspire a new generation of leaders and nation-builders. But perhaps Wang’s most important reminder is this: America’s strength lies not in perfection but in the promise of possibility...

Winter 2025 / Volume IX, Number 4 REVIEW ESSAY Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang W.W. Norton, 2025, 304 pages What forces created such an awe-inspiring material civilization? What administrative and intellectual systems created the conditions for this development? Is such an [end-state] the result of chance, or was it a historic inevitability? — Wang Huning, 1991 It has been my experience that members of the legal profession are contributing substantially to the erosion of values and institutions on which our society is based. In their quest for money and power many l

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