China Transformed - Historical Change and the Limits of European Experience (Hardcover)

The assumption still made in much social science research that Europe provides a universal model of development is fundamentally mistaken, according to the author of this study. The solution however, is not, he says, simply to reject Eurocentric norms, but to build complementary perspectives, such as a Sinocentric one, to evaluate current understandings of European developments. A genuinely comparative perspective, he argues, will free China from wrong expectations and will allow those working on European problems to recognize the distinct character of Western development.