This is a probing study on the interactions between ideological trends and economic reform in the era of Deng Xiaoping. It explores an important but frequently neglected issue in the contemporary study of China: the ideological transformation from the orthodox anti-market doctrine into a more elastic and pro-business one, and from Mao's totalitarianism and radicalism to Deng's gradualism, developmentalism and authoritarianism. Based on a well-defined theoretical framework, the author makes a critical survey of many primary sources including official documents, policy statements, memoirs and interviews, while exploring the origins and themes of China's major ideological trends since 1978 and how they have affected the pace, scope and content of economic reform. In researching these questions, the study focuses on the origin and evolution of Deng Xiaoping's doctrine of "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and its impact on the reform programme.
By placing China's economic reform in such a unique perspective, the author offers thought-provoking explanations on the nature of Chinese politics under Deng Xiaoping in general and the politics of China's "gradual approach" to reform in particular.