Chinese Journal of Sociology ›› 2009, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (6): 173-188.

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From the Institutional Underclass to the Structural Underclass: From Wilson’s The Truly Disadvantaged  Reflecting the Chinese Underclass Management Problems

Jia Yujiao   

  • Online:2009-11-20 Published:2009-11-20

Abstract:

In the United States, the rapid social transformation process has produced a special kind of group that could not be accurately classified according to the traditional social stratification theoretical system, that is, the underclass. Their essential characteristic is its severance from the employment system and the code of conduct in mainstream society. Wilson has swiftly grasped this characteristic and overthrown the traditional view of the institutional underclass. Instead, he attributes the underclass formation in the residential clusters to the socioeconomic structural transition at the systems level.  He then proposes a management mechanism through establishing political alliances, making general policies, and constructing political
strategies with hidden agendas. Based on Wilson’s theory and Sun Liping’s theory of rupture, this paper discusses the Chinese underclass management problems.

Key words: institutional underclass ,  structural underclass , underclass management mechanism, operationalization, sociological methodology, philosophy of social sciences, pragmatic turn