Defending Hierarchy in the Name of Equality: The Statist Metamorphosis of China’s New Left

A significant voice in Chinese political debates since the 1990s, New Left intellectuals are known for their rejection of globalization and their criticism of social inequalities engendered by capitalism. In the twenty-first century, as their influence grows beyond intellectual circles into the realms of both political elites and digital mass media, the mainstream of New Left thought has turned from neo-Marxism toward statism and nationalism. This article tracks three trends in this development. First, New Left thinkers have increasingly considered (coercive) state capacity as an end in itself rather than a means to social equality, reflecting the state’s interest in maintaining stability and enforcing social control. Second, while criticizing “depoliticization,” the New Left’s proposed antidote has deemphasized political participation by the people and has focused on the ideologization of the ruling party, calling for top-down (rather than bottom-up) mobilization. Third, although the New Left came to fame by criticizing capitalism, their target of criticism has shifted from capitalism as a global institution to the “West” as a “civilizational” concept, substituting a return to “traditional” values for their previous goal of equality.