Evil Paradises, Dream Worlds of Neoliberalism (Davis and Monk, 2011) examined how neoliberal economic policies led to the development of what author, Mike Davis, calls "evil paradises."  Neoliberalism was an economic school of thought that builds on the classic liberal economic philosophies of Adam Smith. Neoliberalism argues that free market economies make for more prosperous societies. In short, if you loosen government regulations and trade restrictions, and privatize the economy, then private firms become more prosperous, build more factories, hire more workers, and create a larger tax base (Smith, 2018). But the practice of such ideology was much different than the theory. When the CCP liberalized their economy, the PRC modernize, the country and grow its wealth, but the wealth has not been distributed to all of its citizens. As of 2005 "10 percent of the population now controls 45 percent of the countries wealth" (Davis and Monk, 2011, p.106). With new income inequalities, comes evil paradises - an exclusive urban development that provides all the comforts for the national and transnational wealthy who made their riches off of the false promise of neoliberalism. Some specific examples of evil paradises in Beijing included gated communities, the Chinese World Trade Tower, the Beijing Wukesong Culture, and Sports Center, and the Chateau Zhang-Laffitte.

In 2008 the Olympics were to be hosted in Beijing. This was a chance for the PRC to prove itself as a modern superpower. In line with the PRC's trend of increased standards of living but also increased income inequality, the CCP spared no expense in getting Beijing in top shape before the Olympics. Some of the projects included the Beijing Wukesong Culture and Sports Center, which cost $534 million, a $1.9 billion expansion to the airport, which doubled its capacity, a $600 million new CCTV headquarters, and a $350 million theater near Tiananmen Square. The theater alone was more than 10 times the money spend on the poor. In addition, as Mike Davis in Evil Paradises put it "Most people, however, are unaware that the Olympic facilities that are being built on the ashes of their old neighborhoods will not be accessible to the general public, but for the exclusive benefit of the emerging Chinese elite" (Davis and Monk, 2011, p. 103) In short, these lavish projects were spending more money than what they spent on the poor in a supposedly socialist country, and when the Olympics ended, the poor could not even enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Another example of an evil paradise in Beijing comes from Zahn Yuchen, a former CCP member who left the party and used his party connects for real estate development. Zhang built a "$50-million copy of the famous Chateau Maisons-Laffitte…Chateau Zhang-Laffitte is now a five-star-hotel surrounded by exclusive homes surrounded that share its manicured sculpture garden, equestrian trails, and golf courses" (Davis and Monk, 2011, p. 107). In order to build this opulent hotel, the PRC had to evict all the peasants who worked on a collective farm there. None of them were compensated, except a $45 a month stipend for the elderly. The young were only offered employment for $2 a day.

As social tensions over wealth inequality increased, the newly formed Chinese bourgeoisie found refuge in elusive gated communities. These gated communities were found in Beijing's suburbs, and offer the wealthy a refuge away from "the ‘other China' that is increasingly perceived as backward, hostile, and dangerous…" (Davis and Monk, 2011, p. 108). In addition to gated communities for PRC elite, there also been the development of gated communities for foreigners as well. Fulong Wu and Karen Webber (2004) argue that globalization in the PRC was necessary for foreign gated communities to become possible. Once the PRC was opened up, there was foreign direct investment into Beijing, including branches of multinational corporations. As a result of this, a demand for expatriate housing was created. Kevin Lo and Mark Wang (2013) argue that Wu and Webber failed to analyze the development of foreign gated communities from the supply side. Lo and Wang noticed that developers purposefully made these gated communities to resemble similar communities in the United States, so they could attract expatriates to these communities.

Skyscrapers are another source of evil paradises and transnational capitalism in Beijing. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (n.d.), the Chinese World Tower is the tallest completed building in Beijing. According to the Chinese World Trade Center Website, this tower hosts offices for multinational corporations and high-end retail stores. In addition to the Chinese World Tower, there was also the Fortune Financial Center, which also was an office building, the Beijing Greenland Center, which housed offices as well as residential living.

The neoliberal reforms of the late 70s and 80s transformed the PRC from a third-world socialist country to global superpower that rivals the United States, but at the cost of equality. This inequality leads to the development of evil paradises in Beijing, including the Olympian facilities, transnational offices in luxurious skyscrapers, and gated communities for the Chinese and transnational elite. All of this at the expense the Chinese working class. This development created a demand for labor that the cities could not provide, leading rural workers to migrate to the city, creating slums in Beijing. For more information on Beijing slums, click the link to slums and floating populations.