Mao Yushi, one of China's best-known advocates of government policy reform and an outspoken critic of the neo-Maoist left, was born in 1929 in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. This liberal economist co-founded the pro-market think tank Unirule Institute of Economics. Mao Yushi has previously authored 16 books to educate and promote the rule of law, advance individual rights and free market economics in China. In 2012, he was the recipient of the CATO Institute's Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty. Mao Yushi Thought is a collection of lectures by Mao Yushi delivered in 2013 and 2014. A masterpiece on governance, philosophy and economics, Mao Yushi Thought provides guidance as China faces the challenges of corruption, mounting debt and environmental catastrophe. In this seminal work, Mao Yushi conveys a vision of China's future in which the livelihood and dignity of a common person is protected by rule of law and enriched by a vibrant marketplace of exchange. Mao's whole life has focused on "where is China going?" Time will tell whether this book will help future generations to become empowered to determine that direction for themselves.
About the Author: In 2012, 83-year-old Mao Yushi received the prestigious Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, an acknowledgement of his decades of work advocating for individual rights and free markets in China. His article, "Restore Chairman Mao to Human Form," a piece calling for a more objective view of Chairman Mao, went viral almost overnight. Maoist attacks flooded in, and thousands took to the streets calling for Mao Yushi's incarceration. Mr. Mao is a champion for social justice and equality. In 2002, he founded the Fuping Development Institute. Fuping provides the underprivileged with a sustainable level playing field in the economy. The Institute has raised private donations of US $16 million for microfinance loans, benefiting over 3,000 rural farmers in China. The Institute is also focused on improving rural education. Their Qian Qian Shu Children's home has made primary education more accessible for young children of migrant workers. Fuping's nanny schools have trained more than 40,000 young, rural women with domestic service skills to secure better jobs in major cities. In 2004, the International Business Review named Mao as one of the 10 most influential economists in China. In 2014, Mao was voted fourth on British magazine Prospect's list of the world's top 100 public intellectuals by nearly 7000 subscribers, above Pope Francis (fifth). An economist for the people, Mao has authored 16 books on economics. Economics in Everyday Life, a bestseller in China, has empowered millions of ordinary Chinese people with basic economic knowledge. In 1993, Mao and other liberal economists, including Sheng Hong and Zhang Shuguang, founded the Unirule Institute of Economics, a think-tank promoting market-oriented policy reform. In 1993, Mao set up a fund in Longshuitoucun, Shanxi Province, that offered interest-free loans for medical and educational needs, and other small business loans. Mao has also argued on behalf of larger-scale private lenders, such as Wu Ying, who have had run-ins with finance laws that he regards as relics of an antiquated centrally-planned economic system. In July 2012, Mao founded the Humanism Economics Society, a loose scholarly association for which he currently serves as chairman. Mao's work is focused on teaching, building a better future, promoting rule of law, institution-building, and nation-reforming.