The Ideological Foundations of Qing Taxation: Belief Systems, Politics, and Institutions

This book explores how states develop the capacity to tax, arguing that China's relative economic decline in the 18th and 19th centuries was due to its weak fiscal institutions and limited revenue. It suggests that belief systems created through traditional political ethics and the trauma of dynastic change imposed powerful constraints on fiscal policymaking and institutions, shaping the latter but also reinforcing the political durability of the former. Additionally, it contributes to the debate on Sino-European divergence.

Format: Hardback
Length: 250 pages
Publication date: 09 February 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The development of state taxation capacity holds immense significance in political science, legal theory, economics, sociology, and history. Scholars increasingly assert that China's relative economic decline in the 18th and 19th centuries can be attributed to its weak fiscal institutions and limited revenue. This book presents a compelling argument that this fiscal weakness originated from an ideological perspective. Belief systems, shaped by a confluence of traditional political ethics and the trauma of dynastic change, imposed severe constraints on fiscal policymaking and institutions throughout China's imperial history, spanning over 250 years. Through the Qing example, this book explores various interplay dynamics between state institutions and ideologies, highlighting how the latter shapes the former while also contributing to the political resilience of the latter. In addition to its historical analysis of ideological politics, this book makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing debate on Sino-European divergence.

The development of state taxation capacity holds immense significance in political science, legal theory, economics, sociology, and history. Scholars increasingly assert that China's relative economic decline in the 18th and 19th centuries can be attributed to its weak fiscal institutions and limited revenue. This book presents a compelling argument that this fiscal weakness originated from an ideological perspective. Belief systems, shaped by a confluence of traditional political ethics and the trauma of dynastic change, imposed severe constraints on fiscal policymaking and institutions throughout China's imperial history, spanning over 250 years. Through the Qing example, this book explores various interplay dynamics between state institutions and ideologies, highlighting how the latter shapes the former while also contributing to the political resilience of the latter. In addition to its historical analysis of ideological politics, this book makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing debate on Sino-European divergence.

ISBN-13: 9781316518687