A New 'Great Divergence': The World-Historical Rise of China and the Decline of the West (w/ Ken Hammond)

In this episode, Professor Ken Hammond and I discussed the long history of the rise of the West and capitalism, and China’s role within it. We examined the central position of the Chinese economy in the world-system prior to Western dominance, looking at how its society and economy functioned. Furthermore, we discussed the concept of Chinese/socialist modernization – which is current in Chinese academic discourse – and how it differs from Western modernization theories rooted in colonial thinking. Finally, we considered what this socialist modernization trajectory signifies within the broader 500-year history of Western capitalism, alongside recent developments in China’s approach to global politics and the meaning of the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China within this broader historical context.Ken Hammond is a Professor at the Department of History at New Mexico State University, he is an expert in Chinese and East Asian history, having worked and lived in China for several periods over the past 40 years. He is the author of several books including ‘From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History’ and ‘China’s Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future’.'The Long Transition Toward Socialism' podcast episode with Torkil Lauesen: https://youtu.be/D84K0yH-Cuw?si=U6ORw_a-kKUfYS3b'Building a New Development Theory from the Global South' (Wenhua Zongheng): https://thetricontinental.org/asia/wenhua-zongheng-2026-1-building-new-development-theory/Journal of International Solidarity LinksPatreon: https://patreon.com/internationalsolidaritypodcast/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/journalofintlsolidarity/ Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/