Conflict and variables

Author: Zhang Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: In recent years, the middle class has become a hot topic of discussion in China's academic circles. This attention has three inevitable reasons. First, the development of the socialist market economy has rapidly led to the diversification of social interest groups, and the middle class, as an important interest group, is gradually emerging in China. Second, from the development experience of Western countries, the middle class plays a particularly important role in democratic politics and social stability. Many scholars in China also judge that the status of the middle class will have a crucial impact on the future political development of China. Third, after the reform and opening-up, with the shift of China's political focus from class struggle to economic construction, the de-emphasis on the concept of "class" and the emphasis on the concept of "stratum" have in fact become a realistic context in China's intellectual circles. However, most of the existing research on China's middle class is largely sociological observation and analysis, with few studies from a political science perspective. In fact, analyzing the middle class from a political science perspective has an irreplaceable role compared to sociological analysis. This is precisely the main reason I recommend this book to the publisher and readers. The author of this book, Dr. Zhang Wei, is a young scholar who has just completed his studies at Peking University. The most valuable quality of young people is "fearless and bold like a new-born calf," daring to explore and innovate. From the selection of the topic in this book to the use of research tools and the final conclusions, this valuable quality is reflected in every aspect. The author chooses to use political science or political sociology methods to examine the emerging middle class in Chinese society, which is itself a pioneering work. The author's questioning of some existing conclusions in this book, such as the mainstream view that the middle class is a "social and political stabilizer," is even more challenging. The innovative research done by Dr. Zhang Wei may not be universally recognized by the academic community, but it is still highly commendable because his research is based on in-depth and meticulous surveys and observations. The analysis throughout the book is primarily based on empirical data such as in-depth interviews. In this sense, this is also a book on empirical research, and empiricality is another feature of this book. The political science community in China is increasingly paying attention to the study of the middle class, and I fully believe that the publication of this book will play a positive role in further promoting research in this field.