Professional Affiliation

Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania

Expert Bio

Joshua B. Freedman is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on politics, society, and ideas, and his current major project investigates the politics of scientific authority in post-Mao China. His research, writing, and analysis on both China and the United States have appeared in China Quarterly, China: An International Journal, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, and many other publications. He holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University and a B.A. in Public Policy from Stanford University.

Wilson Center Project

The Ideological Roots of Social Policy Change in Xi’s China

Project Summary

Policymakers and economic analysts alike point to the inadequacy of China's social safety net as a key factor holding back consumption-driven growth. Yet after a massive expansion of social policy programs and emphasis on social justice under Hu Jintao, the current Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping has sidelined social policy and cautioned against excessive “welfarism” that might encourage citizens to be dependent on the state. Ideas have long played a role in the development of social supports in China; what are the ideological underpinnings of the current approach to social policy in China? This project investigates the evolution of the Party leadership’s attitudes toward the concept of “welfarism” and the changing relationship between the idea of production and the expansion of the welfare state. A deeper analysis of the ideas shaping policymaking can shed light on the state of contemporary social policy and the prospects for economic rebalancing in China.