Adam Tooze, the famous Columbia University professor, recently made two fascinating presentations (one at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing, and one with the Sinica podcast), arguing that we are living through the most consequential shift in human civilization since the Industrial Revolution.
He argues that China hasn't just “risen”; it has fundamentally rewritten the rules of how modern societies develop and transform. In his words: “China isn't just sort of an analytical problem. It is THE analytical problem of modernity. It is the master key to understanding modernity.”
How so? In this article, I look at Tooze's fascinating argument from its statistical foundation - a single graph showing China's explosive energy consumption that dwarfs all previous human history - through to its immensely consequential implications for everything from climate policy to global development.
By the end, you'll understand why Tooze believes that failing to place China at the center of our understanding of today’s world leaves us with no “hope of grasping what's going on.”
