Yushi Mao

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.

The objective of publishing this book is to let the general public have a better understanding of the food security situation in China and better comprehension of the merit of allocating land through market mechanism. In addition, it makes the public aware of the inefficiencies of current government regulated land system. As a populous country in the world, China emphasizes too much importance of food to ensure people's sufficient consumption. There is a national policy to protect farm land, farm land protection refers to 18 hundred million mu of farmland which is specifically designated for food production only. Unirule defined the national food security as the capability to solve food shortages, and calculated the gap between food supply and demand. Two approaches can be used to solve the above food gap. Food security problems will not happen under situations of free trade and factors substitution in market economy, substantial storage and foreign exchange income. In modern China, food insecurity or great famine only happened in planned economy. To link tightly farm land size and grain yield and even food security is baseless both in theory and practices. The previous red line of 21 hundred million mu was already broken through. The current red line of 18 hundred million mu will also be broken through, in view of the process of industrialization and urbanization. In fact, farm land protection should focus on protecting the employment right of peasant in land.