《现代化的陷井》之所以成为１９９８年最畅销的经济学著作，是因为作者提出了公平与正义、富裕与贫穷这一恒久不衰的问题。作者关于中国在短短十几年中走过了从平均主义盛行到悬殊的贫富差距、现今中国财富以不适当（比如侵蚀国有资产）的方式集中在素质低下和品质恶劣者... The reason why the “modern trap” became the best-selling economics book in 1998 was because the author put forward the enduring question of equity and justice, affluence and poverty. The author’s comment on China’s gap between the rich and the poor from the prevalence of egalitarianism to its disparity in just a dozen or so years has now concentrated on inferiority and inferior quality in ways that are inappropriate (such as erosion of state assets).