The Realignment 570 | Dan Wang: China's Engineering State, America's Lawyerly Society, and the Competition for the 21st Century
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Aug 26, 2025 
Dan Wang, a Research Fellow at Stanford's Hoover History Lab and author of *Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future*, discusses the stark contrasts between China’s engineering-driven governance and America’s lawyer-centric culture. He suggests that these differences shape their respective capabilities in industrial policy and infrastructure projects. The conversation touches on China's megaprojects, the implications of the one-child policy, and America's struggle with credentialism in politics, all while examining the potential for a new era of competition between the two nations.
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Engineer-State vs Lawyerly Society
- China elevates engineers into political power which biases it toward big projects and technical fixes.
- The U.S. elevates lawyers which biases it toward procedure, blocking, and rights-protecting institutions.
Engineering Literalism Enables Rapid Projects
- Engineers focus on building concrete solutions and can treat society like a math problem.
- That literalism enables fast megaprojects but risks blunt, large-scale policies with severe social costs.
Proceduralism Protects But Slows Progress
- Lawyerly systems block reckless policies and protect rights but can stall major national projects.
- That proceduralism explains strong protections yet weak infrastructure-building in the U.S.
