A picture of a relentless drive for industrialization at the expense of living standards is presented in this authoritative comparison of the economic development of China in the Communist and pre-Communist periods. The authors have made a quantitative analysis of the economy of the Chinese mainland from 1952 to 1959 and related it to accounts for 1933. Their interpretation differs dramatically from official Communist statements; and their findings cast serious doubt on Communist claims for annual increases in national income. For 1958, for instance, the official figure for the rate of...