John K. Fairbank and the Paradox of Chinese Communism

This article examines John King Fairbank’s perspective on the paradox of Chinese communism and its influence on U.S. liberals’ approaches to coexistence with the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s and 1960s. After the Chinese Civil War, Fairbank and other like-minded Democrats urged the U.S. government to support the Chinese people’s “social revolution” as a means to escape political oppression and economic exploitation. Initially, these liberals aimed to foster non-communist revolutionaries within China by reviving the Third Force and reshaping Taiwan into a democratic model. However, as Mao Zedong’s rule became increasingly oppressive in the 1960s, Fairbank re-evaluated the legacy of China’s authoritarian political tradition and its enduring influence. With this renewed understanding, U.S. liberals of the Democratic Party began to see rapprochement with the PRC as the most viable path for future U.S.- China relations.