Shanghai Free Taxi by Frank Langfitt
Shanghai Free Taxi by Frank Langfitt offers an insightful glimpse into the rapidly changing landscape of contemporary China. Langfitt, a journalist, provides a unique window into Chinese society through an unconventional approach: he drives a free taxi in Shanghai. By offering free rides, Langfitt engages with a wide range of individuals, from factory workers and real estate speculators to artists and activists. These personal stories form the narrative backbone of the book, revealing the complex and often contradictory forces shaping China today.
I loved how Langfitt’s role as a free taxi driver allows him to navigate the city’s physical and social landscapes, offering a microcosm-like view of Chinese culture that is rarely reported on in the West.
What I Liked
I really liked how the book focuses on individual people. It’s easy to forget that huge global trends do affect individual people in different and complex ways. And China’s rise has been so fast that it’s overturned centuries of tradition and culture. The West took several generations to deal with the transition from subsistence agriculture to a cutting edge industrial economy. China did it in less than one generation. The sheer tumult and crazy change is unimaginable. Reading about individual lives makes the tradeoffs of wealth & opportunity vs. personal relationships just so sharp edged. Here’s a quote I noted –
The prevailing ethical system in traditional China is based on close-knit community ties, kinship ties. There is a sharp divide between acquaintances and strangers. A number of ethical codes may not apply to interactions with strangers. In other words, taking advantage of a stranger or even hurting a stranger might not be considered as morally wrong because that stranger is not part of the group. Morality is relative. It’s also based on social distance.
The US, Western Europe, and East Asia all dealt with the massive shift in culture from rural to cities with civil society, new institutions, democracy, etc – but China has basically one thing holding everything together – the Communist Party. And it’s contradictory because most individuals recognize the Communist Party as the only thing keeping China together…but also the self-serving nature of the Communist Party. They are not going to let people adjust in their own way.
It’s tough and complicated. And digging into those contradictions is exactly what the book does so well.
What I Didn’t Like
Even though the book has a glossary of characters…it does get confusing with all his interviewees and characters. There are also some sections that could’ve been edited.
Takeaways
The world is always more complicated than it appears in media. Individuals’ lives, longings, and goals around the world are all incredibly similar.
The United States, still, holds a place in people’s imagination around the world. More than any policy the US puts in place, we need to just keep doing democracy peacefully and successfully.
Politicians need to re-focus messaging on the Chinese government & Communist Party. Most people in China are still just trying to get by and live a peaceful life. There’s no reason to give the Communist Party propaganda ammunition with belligerent messaging and “tough” talk.
