Conflict and Variables (Political Analysis of China's Middle Class)

Author: Zhang Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Mills once asserted in the early 1950s, "It is precisely in this white-collar world that we can find the characteristics of American 20th-century life." Similarly, we can confidently say at the dawn of the 21st century that it is precisely in the world of the "middle class" that we can find the characteristics of China's 21st-century political and social life. In recent years, the middle class has become a hot topic of discussion in domestic academic circles, and 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 as an important interest group, the middle class 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 domestic scholars have judged that the condition of the middle class will also play a crucial role in China's future political development. 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 has been sociological in nature, 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 recently graduated from Peking University. The most valuable quality of young people is their courage and willingness to innovate, as they are not afraid of challenges. From the selection of the topic in this book to the use of research tools and the final conclusions, this valuable quality is fully reflected. The author chose to use political science or political sociology methods to examine the emerging middle class in Chinese society, which is itself a highly innovative work. The author's questioning of some existing conclusions, such as the mainstream view that the middle class is a "social and political stabilizer," is even more challenging. Dr. Zhang Wei's innovative research may not be universally recognized by the academic community, but it is still highly commendable because his research is based on in-depth 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 domestic political science community 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.