Mao's War against Nature

Description:

Judith Shapiro, in clear and compelling prose, relates the great, untold story of the devastating impact of Chinese politics on China's environment during the Mao years. Maoist China provides an example of extreme human interference in the natural world in an era in which human relationships were also unusually distorted. Under Mao, the traditional Chinese ideal of 'harmony between heaven and humans' was abrogated in favor of Mao's insistence that 'People Will Conquer Nature'. Mao and the Chinese Communist Party's 'war' to bend the physical world to human will often had disastrous consequences both for human beings and the natural environment. Mao's War Against Nature argues that the abuse of people and the abuse of nature are often linked. Shapiro's account, told in part through the voices of average Chinese citizens and officials who lived through and participated in some of the destructive campaigns, is both eye-opening and heartbreaking.

subjects: History,  Nonfiction,  Environmental degradation,  Environmental policy,  China, environmental conditions,  China, history, 20th century,  China, politics and government,  Communism,  Environment,  Politics,  Environnement,  Politique gouvernementale,  Histoire,  Dégradation,  SCIENCE,  Environmental Science (see also Chemistry,  Environmental),  POLITICAL SCIENCE,  Public Policy,  Environmental Policy,  Umweltpolitik,  Geschichte,  Milieubeleid,  Pollution,  Politique de l'environnement,  Développement économique,  Aspect de l'environnement,  Nature,  Effets de l'homme,  China,  Environmental policy--history,  Environmental policy--china--history--20th century,  Environmental degradation--history,  Environmental degradation--china--history--20th century,  Communism--history,  Environment--politics,  Ge190.c6 s48 2001