The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism
Drawing on three cumulative years of fieldwork I conducted in China with start-up entrepreneurs, venture capital investors (VCs), and local government officials, this dissertation investigates the intersection between Chinese governance, venture capitalism, and "big data"-driven technologi...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Published: |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2023
|
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/152642 |
| _version_ | 1811072558648262656 |
|---|---|
| author | Wong, Jamie Jing-Men |
| author2 | Jones, Graham |
| author_facet | Jones, Graham Wong, Jamie Jing-Men |
| author_sort | Wong, Jamie Jing-Men |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Drawing on three cumulative years of fieldwork I conducted in China with start-up entrepreneurs, venture capital investors (VCs), and local government officials, this dissertation investigates the intersection between Chinese governance, venture capitalism, and "big data"-driven technologies. Through a parallel study of how scale and scaling feature in China's nation building and the venture capitalist project, I elaborate on the notion of the "weight of scale": the simultaneous duality of scale as a resource and as a burden. I reveal how the impact of data-driven technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning extends beyond domain-specific applications, and show how sociotechnical imaginaries influenced and informed by these technologies crucially lend scientific authority to ways of configuring and organizing society. I highlight how "successful models that mostly fail" –— modes of operation involving massive trial-and-error with only a few spectacularly favorable outcomes –— have spread from VC to Chinese political life. Overall, this dissertation tells the story of how American VC domesticated Chinese investors and how China eventually came to domesticate the VC format to govern. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:07:51Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/152642 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:07:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1526422023-11-03T03:59:26Z The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism Wong, Jamie Jing-Men Jones, Graham Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Science, Technology and Society Drawing on three cumulative years of fieldwork I conducted in China with start-up entrepreneurs, venture capital investors (VCs), and local government officials, this dissertation investigates the intersection between Chinese governance, venture capitalism, and "big data"-driven technologies. Through a parallel study of how scale and scaling feature in China's nation building and the venture capitalist project, I elaborate on the notion of the "weight of scale": the simultaneous duality of scale as a resource and as a burden. I reveal how the impact of data-driven technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning extends beyond domain-specific applications, and show how sociotechnical imaginaries influenced and informed by these technologies crucially lend scientific authority to ways of configuring and organizing society. I highlight how "successful models that mostly fail" –— modes of operation involving massive trial-and-error with only a few spectacularly favorable outcomes –— have spread from VC to Chinese political life. Overall, this dissertation tells the story of how American VC domesticated Chinese investors and how China eventually came to domesticate the VC format to govern. Ph.D. 2023-11-02T20:05:06Z 2023-11-02T20:05:06Z 2023-09 2023-09-12T19:33:28.592Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/152642 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Wong, Jamie Jing-Men The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism |
| title | The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism |
| title_full | The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism |
| title_fullStr | The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism |
| title_short | The Politics of Scale and Scaling in Chinese Governance and Venture Capitalism |
| title_sort | politics of scale and scaling in chinese governance and venture capitalism |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/152642 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wongjamiejingmen thepoliticsofscaleandscalinginchinesegovernanceandventurecapitalism AT wongjamiejingmen politicsofscaleandscalinginchinesegovernanceandventurecapitalism |