Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T14:32:20.690Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

China's Middle Class: Unified or Fragmented?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2013

CHUNLONG LU
CHUNLONG LU*
Affiliation:
Professor of Political Science, and Associate Dean of School of Politics and Public Administration at the China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, People's Republic of [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Based on data collected from a representative-sample survey conducted in five Chinese cities (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Hangzhou) in the middle of 2008, this study examines the behavioral orientations of Chinese middle class toward the local elections which are held in urban areas, and the attitudinal orientations of Chinese middle class toward the current regime. The results indicate that there is a strong division within the group of the middle class, especially along the lines of the relationship with the state. Therefore, this study suggests that the Chinese middle class is a class without a shared class identity.

Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 14 , Special Issue 1: Japan–China Fragile Partnership: At Fortieth Anniversary of Diplomatic Normalization , March 2013 , pp. 127 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alford, Robert R. (1962), ‘A Suggested Index of the Association of Social Class and Voting’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 26: 417–25.Google Scholar
Bell, Daniel A. (1998), ‘After the Tsunami: Will Economic Crisis Bring Democracy to Asia’, The New Republic, 218 (10): 22–5.Google Scholar
Benewick, Robert, Tong, Irene, and Howell, Jude (2004), ‘Self-Governance and Community: A Preliminary Comparison between Villagers’ Committees and Urban Community Councils’, China Information: A Journal on Contemporary China Studies, 18 (1): 11–28.Google Scholar
Bian, Yanjie (2002), ‘Chinese Social Stratification and Social Mobility’, Annual Review of Sociology, 28: 91–116.Google Scholar
Brown, David and Martin Jones, David (1995), ‘Democratization and the Myth of the Liberalizing Middle Classes’, in Bell, Daniel A.et al. (eds.), Towards Illiberal Democracy in Pacific Asia, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, pp. 78–106.Google Scholar
Burns, John P. (1999), ‘The People's Republic of China at 50: National Political Reform’, The China Quarterly, 159 (3): 580–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burris, Val (1986), ‘The Discovery of the New Middle Class’, Theory and Society, 15 (3): 317–49.Google Scholar
Cai, Yongshun (2005), ‘China's Moderate Middle Class: The Case of Homeowners’ Resistance’, Asian Survey, 45 (5): 777–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cao, Yang (2001), ‘Careers Inside Organizations: A Comparative Study of Promotion Determination in Reforming China’, Social Forces, 80 (2): 683–712Google Scholar
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip E., Miller, Warren E., and Stokes, Donald E. (1960), The American Voter, New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Centers, Richard (1949), The Psychology of Social Classes, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Chen, An (2002), ‘Capitalist Development, Entrepreneurial Class, and Democratization in China’, Political Science Quarterly, 117 (3): 401–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Jie (2004), Popular Political Support in Urban China, Stanford University Press and Woodrow Wilson Center Press.Google Scholar
Chen, Jie and Lu, Chunlong (2011), ‘Democratization and the Middle Class in China: The Middle Class's Attitudes toward Democracy’, Political Research Quarterly, 64 (3): 705–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, Robert A. (1971), Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Davis, Deborah S. (2000), ‘Social Class Transformation in Urban China: Training, Hiring, and Promoting Urban Professionals and Managers after (1949’, Modern China, 26 (3): 251–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derleth, James and Koldyk, Daniel R. (2004), ‘The Shequ Experiment: Grassroots Political Reform in Urban China’, Journal of Contemporary China, 13 (41): 747–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easton, David (1965), A Systems Analysis of Political Life, New York: John Wiley & Son.Google Scholar
Easton, David (1975), ‘A Reassessment of the Concept of Political Support’, British Journal of Political Science, 5 (October): 435–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elster, Jon (1985), Making Sense of Marx, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Englehart, Neil A. (2003), ‘Democracy and the Thai Middle class’, Asian Survey, 43 (2): 253–79.Google Scholar
Erikson, Robert and Goldthorpe, John H. (1992), The Constant Flux: A Study of Class Mobility in Industrial Societies, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Eulau, Heinz (1956a), ‘Identification with Class and Political Perspective’, Journal of Politics, 18 (2): 232–53.Google Scholar
Eulau, Heinz (1956b), ‘Identification with Class and Political Role Behavior’, Public Opinion Quarterly, 20 (3): 515–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fukuyama, Francis (1993), ‘Capitalism & Democracy: The Missing Link’, in Diamond, Larry and Plattner, Marc F. (eds.), Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy Revisited, Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 94–104.Google Scholar
Glassman, Ronald M. (1991), China in Transition: Communism, Capitalism, and Democracy, New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Glassman, Ronald M. (1995), The Middle Class and Democracy in Socio-Historical Perspective, Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glassman, Ronald M. (1997), The New Middle Class and Democracy in Global Perspective, New York: St Martin's Press; London: Macmillan Press.Google Scholar
Goodman, David G. (1999), ‘The New Middle Class’, in Goldman, Merle and MacFarquhar, Roderick (eds.), The Paradox of China's Post-Mao Reforms, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 241–61.Google Scholar
Gui, Yong, Cheng, Joseph Y.S., and Ma, Weihong (2006), ‘Cultivation of Grassroots Democracy: A Study of Direct Election of Residents Committees in Shanghai’, China Information: A Journal on Contemporary China Studies, 20 (1): 7–31.Google Scholar
Halpern, Nina P. (1991), ‘Economic Reform, Social Mobilization, and Democratization in Post-Mao China’, in Baum, Richard (ed.), Reform and Reaction in Post-Mao China: The Road to Tiananmen, New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hattori, Tamio and Funatsu, Tsuruyo (2003), ‘The Emergence of the Asian Middle Classes and Their Characteristics’, The Developing Economies, 41 (2): 140–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hattori, Tamio, Funatsu, Tsuruyo, and Torii, Takashi (2003), ‘Introduction: The Emergence of the Asian Middle Classes and Their Characteristics’, The Developing Economies, 41 (2): 129–39.Google Scholar
Hayes, Bernadette C. (1995), ‘The Impact of Class on Political Attitudes: A Comparative Study of Great Britain, West Germany, Australia, and the United States’, European Journal of Political Research, 27: 69–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hsiao, Hsin-Huang Michael and So, Alvin Y. (1999), ‘The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes: The Five Propositions’, in Hsiao, Hsin-Huang Michael (ed.), East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective, Taipei: Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, pp. 3–49.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel P. (1991), The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.Google Scholar
International Finance Corporation (2000), China's Emerging Private Enterprises: Prospects for the New Century, Washington, DC: International Finance Corporation.Google Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent (1997), ‘Political Participation in the Chinese Countryside’, American Political Science Review, 91: 361–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, Dale L. (1985), ‘Class and Social Development: Toward a Comparative and Historical Social Science’, in Johnson, Dale L. (ed.), Middle Classes in Dependent Countries, Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, pp. 13–41.Google Scholar
Johnston, Alastair Iain (2004), ‘Chinese Middle Class Attitudes Towards International Affairs: Nascent Liberalization?’, The China Quarterly, 179: 603–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, David Martin (1998), ‘Democratization, Civil Society, and Illiberal Middle Class Culture in Pacific Asia’, Comparative Politics, 30 (2): 147–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahl, Joseph Alan (1957), The American Class Structure, New York: Rinehart.Google Scholar
Koo, Hagen (1991), ‘Middle classes, Democratization, and Class Formation: The Case of South Korea’, Theory and Society, 20 (4): 485–509.Google Scholar
Koo, Hagen (1999), ‘The Middle Class in the East Asian Newly Industrialized Societies: Issues, Preliminary Findings and Further Questions’, in Hsiao, Hsin-Huang Michael (ed.), East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective, Taipei: Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, pp. 83–100.Google Scholar
Lam, Peng Er (1999), ‘Singapore: Rich State, Illiberal Regime’, Morley, James W. (ed.), Driven by Growth: Political Change in the Asia-Pacific Region, New York: M.E. Sharpe.Google Scholar
Lane, Robert E. (1959), Political Life: Why People Get Involved in Politics, Glencoe, IL: Free Press.Google Scholar
Li, Chunling (2003), ‘Zhongguo dangdai zhongchan jieceng de goucheng ji bili (The Composition and Size of China's Contemporary Middle Class)’, Zhongguo renkou kexue (Chinese Population Science) (6): 25–32.Google Scholar
Li, He (2003), ‘Middle Class: Friends or Foes to Beijing's New Leadership’, Journal of Chinese Political Science, 8 (1&2): 87–100.Google Scholar
Li, Qiang (2003), ‘Zhongguo zhongdeng shouru jieceng de goucheng (The Composition of China's Middle-Income Stratum), Hunan shifan daxue shehui kexue xuebao (Journal of Hunan Normal University Social Science) (4): 7–9.Google Scholar
Lipset, Seymour M. (1959), ‘Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy’, American Political Science Review, 53 (1): 69–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipset, Seymour M. (1968), ‘Stratification: Social Class’, International Encyclopedia of the Social Science, vol. 15, New York: Collier Macmillan, pp. 296–316.Google Scholar
Lipset, Seymour M. (1981), Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Lu, Xueyi (ed.) (2002), Dangdai zhongguo shehui jieceng yanjiu baogao (Research Report on Contemporary China's Social Classes), Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe.Google Scholar
Lu, Xueyi (ed.) (2004), Dangdai zhongguo shehui liudong (Social Mobility in Contemporary China), Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe.Google Scholar
Luskin, Robert C. (1990), ‘Explaining Political Sophistication’, Political Behavior 12 (4): 331–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manion, Melanie (1996), ‘The Electoral Connection in the Chinese Countryside’, American Political Science Review, 90: 736–48.Google Scholar
Marsh, Alan and Kaase, Max (1979), ‘Background of Political Action’, in Barnes, Samuel H.et al. (eds.), Political Action: Mass Participation in Five Western Democracies, Beverley Hills, CA: Sage, pp. 97–136.Google Scholar
Milbrath, Lester W. (1977), Political Participation: How and Why Do People Get Involved in Politics? 2nd edition, Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Mills, C. Wright (1953), White Collar: The American Middle Classes, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nie, Norman H., Powell, G. Bingham Jr, and Prewitt, Kenneth (1969), ‘Social Structure and Political Participation: Developmental Relationships, Part I and II’, American Political Science Review, 63: 361–378 and 808–832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oppenheimer, Martin (1985), White Collar Politics, New York: Monthly Review Press.Google Scholar
Pearson, Margaret M. (1997), China's New Business Elite: The Political Consequences of Economic Reform, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qiu, Zeqi (2004), Dangdai zhongguo shehui fenceng zhuangkuang de bianqian (The Changes of Social Stratification in Contemporary China), Heibei, China: Hebei daxue chubanshe.Google Scholar
Rodan, Garry (1993), ‘The Growth of Singapore's Middle Class and its Political Significance’, in Rodan, Garry (ed.), Singapore Changes Guard: Social, Political and Economic Directions in the 1990s, Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.Google Scholar
Rueschemeyer, Dietrich, Stephens, Evelyne Huber, and Stephens, John D. (1992), Capitalist Development and Democracy, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sherkat, Darren and Blocker, T. Jean (1994), ‘The Political Development of Sixties’ Activities: Identifying the Influence of Class, Gender, and Socialization on Protest Participation’, Social Forces, 72 (3): 821–42.Google Scholar
Shi, Tianjian (1997), Political Participation in Beijing, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Shi, Weimin and Jingxuan, Lei (1999), Zhijie xuanju: System and Procedure (Direct Elections: The System and Procedure), Beijing: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Press.Google Scholar
Shin, Eui Hang (1999), ‘Social Change, Political Elections, and the Middle Class in Korea’, East Asia: An International Quarterly, 17 (3): 28–60.Google Scholar
So, Alvin Y. (2003), ‘The Changing Pattern of Classes and Class Conflict in China’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 33 (3): 363–76.Google Scholar
So, Alvin Y. (2004), ‘The Middle Class in Asia-Pacific: Second-Phase Research and Future Trajectory’, Asian Perspective, 28 (2): 263–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sundhaussen, Ulf (1991), ‘Democracy and the Middle Classes: Reflections on Political Development’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, 37: 100–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, Wenfang and Parish, William L. (2000), Chinese Urban Life under Reform: The Changing Social Contract, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Tomba, Luigi (2004), ‘Creating an Urban Middle Class: Social Engineering in Beijing’, The China Journal, 51: 1–26.Google Scholar
Torii, Takashi (2003), ‘The Mechanism for State-Led Creation of Malaysia's Middle Classes’, The Developing Economies, 41 (2): 221–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney and Nie, Norman H. (1972), Participation in America: Political Democracy and Social Equality, New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Nie, Norman, and Kim, Jae-on (1978), Participation and Political Equality: A Seven-Nation Comparison, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Walder, Andrew G., Li, Bobai, and Treiman, Donald J. (2000), ‘Politics and Life Chances in a State Socialist Regime: Dual Career Paths into the Urban Chinese Elite, 1949 to 1996’, American Sociological Review, 65 (2): 191–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, Katherine Cramer, Jennings, M. Kent, and Stoker, Laura (2004), ‘The Effects of Social Class Identification on Participatory Orientations towards Government’, British Journal of Political Science, 34: 469–95.Google Scholar
Wang, Bangzuo (ed.) (2003), Juweihui yu shequ zhili (Residents’ Committee and Community Governance), Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe.Google Scholar
Wang, Zhongtian (1998), Xingde bi'an: Zouxiang 21st shiji de zhongguo minzhu (A New Horizon: Marching toward the Chinese Democracy in the 21st Century), Beijing: The Party School of the CCP's Central Committee Press.Google Scholar
Whyte, Martin King (1975), ‘Inequality and Stratification in China’, China Quarterly, 64: 684–711.Google Scholar
Wright, Erik Olin (1997), Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wright, Teresa (2010), Accepting Authoritarianism: State–Society Relations in China's Reform Era, Stanford, CA: Stanford University PressGoogle Scholar
Xiao, Wentao (2001), ‘Zhongguo zhongjian jieceng de xianzhuang he weilai fazhan (The Current Situation and Future Development of China's Middle Stratum)’, Shehuixue yanjiu (Sociological Research) (3): 93–8.Google Scholar
Zhang, Wei (2005), Chongtu yu bianshu: Zhongguo shehui zhongjian jieceng zhengzhi fenxi (Conflict and Uncertainty: Political Analysis of the Middle Stratum in Chinese Society), Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe.Google Scholar
Zheng, Hangsheng and Li, Lulu (eds.) (2004), Dangdai zhongguo chengshi shehui jiegou (Social Structure of the Cities in Contemporary China), Beijing: Zhongguo renmin daxue chubanshe.Google Scholar
Zhou, Xiaohong (ed.) (2005), Zhongguo zhongchan jieceng diaocha (Survey of the Chinese Middle Classes), Beijing: Shehui kexue wenxian chubanshe.Google Scholar
Zhou, Xueguang (2004), The State and Life Chances in Urban China, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zipp, John F. (1986), ‘Social Class and Social Liberalism’, Sociological Forum, 1 (2): 301–29.Google Scholar