A sociology of modern China PDF
Preview A sociology of modern China
A SOCIOLOGY OF MODERN CHINA The series in Comparative Politics and International Studies Series editor, Christophe Jaffrelot This series consists of translations of noteworthy manuscripts and publications in the social sciences emanating from the foremost French researchers at Sciences Po, Paris. The focus of the series is the transformation of politics and society by trans- national and domestic factors—globalisation, migration and the postbipolar balance of power on the one hand, and ethnic- ity and religion on the other. States are more permeable to external influence than ever before and this phenomenon is accelerating processes of social and political change the world over. In seeking to understand and interpret these transforma- tions, this series gives priority to social trends from below as much as to the interventions of state and non-state actors. JEAN-LOUIS ROCCA A Sociology of Modern China Translated by Gregory Elliott Revised and updated by the author A A Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Copyright © Jean-Louis Rocca, 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Rocca, Jean-Louis A Sociology of Modern China ISBN 978-0-19-023112-5 hardcover 978-0-19-023120-0 paperback To Roxane CONTENTS Introduction 1 Orthodox Thinking 3 Culturalist Impasses 3 The Impasses of Transitionalism 5 A Critical Reflection 6 1. Historical Trajectory 11 Before the Revolution 11 A Grey Page 14 The ‘stratification’ of society 16 Classes that were not classes 18 The resources of social stratification 20 A society of estates 22 New Solidarities: Towns and Cities 24 New Solidarities: The Countryside 26 The Tragic Failure of Totalitarianism 29 2. The Long March of Reforms 31 The Mutual Formation of the State and Market 34 A Marginal Capitalism (1978–91) 36 The maintenance of structures 36 Some ruptures 39 A Hesitant Stratification 42 The Time of Fractures (1992–2007) 42 It is right to get rich 47 vii CONTENTS Deindustrialisation: the fall of the public empire 47 ‘Privatisation’: a user’s manual 49 Development of the service sector 52 New industrialisation 53 Education as a decisive asset 53 Urbanisation 55 The break-up of the social security systems 58 3. A New Society 63 The Conditions of Social Mobility 64 Determinants 65 The opening up of possibilities 69 The Morphology of Chinese Society 71 The Dangers of Imbalances 76 Social frustrations 76 A consumer society that consumes little 78 The Ideal Class 79 Dynamism and rationality 80 Political dynamism and stability 80 A class that is hard to define 81 4. A Society of Individuals in a Time of Reforms 85 A Society of Subjects of their Own Existence 88 Effects of Fashion 90 Social Anxiety 92 Sex and Marriage in the (Chinese) City 94 Public morality, social moralities 95 Normalising freedoms 96 Children 100 5. The Political Puzzle 105 A Moderate Pluralism 107 The Internet Revolution and its Limits 107 Elections and Electors 110 A Thermidorian and Technocratic Elite 112 viii
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