Table of Content

20 July 2008, Volume 28 Issue 4

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Articles

Transnational Capitals and the Emergence of the Middle Class in China：the Highest Chinese Labor Force in the Multinational Corporations

Tong Xin

2008, 28(4):  1-19 . 

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With the transnational capitals， the segmented labor market in China has been structured. On the basis of New Liberal Ideology， the tremendous capital superiority of multinational corporations has helped highest labor force enter the market and its segmentation. Postmodern capitalist production patterns have influenced the control relationships of the corporative authorities and the highest labor force in the multinational corporations in China. Under task management， those at the higher positions have to overwork， and have shown consenting obedience due to the intensity within the internal labor market. Furthermore， they have developed various positive career strategies relying upon their specialized technical qualifications and competitive abilities. While transnational capitals are segmenting the Chinese labor market， they are also influencing the reconstruction of the social structure in Chinathe emergence of the new middle class.

Labor Solidarity in Contract Manufacturing：the Staff Committee Experiment in Xinda Company as an Example

Huang Yan

2008, 28(4):  20-33 . 

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Sweatshops in the Contract Manufacturing sprouted in the coastal area of South China are closely related to the unique industrial ecosystem of multinational brandname products with foreign capitals， local governments， and migrating workers. The force of globalization is changing the traditional model of labor protection. This paper describes a trade union experiment stimulated by the transnational networks in a contracted manufactory in South China. Unlike the Chinese corporatist model， this internal trade union experiment in Xinda Company has been powerfully supported by the investor， multinational brands and transnational advocacy networks. The paper attempts to discuss the significance and limitations of the internal trade union model in the form of staff committee in promoting labor solidarity.


The Weak identity as a Weapon： Subaltern Politics of the Peasant Resistance for Rights

Dong Haijun

2008, 28(4):  34-58 . 

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The weak are not always at the weak position and sometimes they even have the upper hand. Referring to the research on peasant resistance for rights， especially on the basis of Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance by weapons of the weak， we take the autonomy of peasant subaltern politics as the basic point to analyze the peasant resistance， with the focus on their daily events of resistance for rights， and find another kind of political system for subaltern resistance. It is “the weak identity as a weapon”. The potential power of the weak and the resistant action by using their identity of the weak as a weapon are discussed in this research. That is the answer to the question why and how the weak are taken as a weapon and thus revises our traditional perception of the sweak. The research on the resistance system by “the weak identity as a weapon” has farreaching significance to social management and development.


Reexamine the Class Theory and Its Concepts at the Theoretical Level

Wu Qingjun

2008, 28(4):  59-86 . 

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This paper reviews the class concepts and class analysis in the Western academia since Karl Marx and describes schools of thought represented by Marx， Weber， Marxism， Weberism and the New Marxism. Marx and Weber determined two kinds of class analysis. Their class concepts have been interpreted and redefined by their followers. However， the new definitions have led to an even blurrier class conceptualization. The class concept has become a core concept in the controversy of social sciences and political struggles. Since the 1980s， New Marxian and New Weberism have taken up the research to operationalize the class conceptualization and have tried to lay out a theoretical framework for empirical studies； thus， the two research routes have started to converge.


The Creation of AutonomicSpace by the Township Governments in Western and Central China after the Tax Reform： A Case Study of County Y in Hebei Province

Yang Shanhua &Song Qian

2008, 28(4):  87-106 . 

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After the Tax Reform in China， the income of the township governments in Western and Central China （TGWCs） relies mostly on budgetary transactions and their power has been partially taken back by their authorities. These measures have greatly shrunken the autonomicspace of these TGWCs， whose previous primary income source was agricultural revenues. Even under such institutional pressure and in such difficult financial and administrative situations， TGWCs are still expected to accomplish the goals set by their superiorities. Thus， TGWCs inevitably have to create an autonomicspace for themselves. According to the author’s indepth interviews with some township government officials in County Y， Hebei Province， this paper describes how some of the TGWCs in Western and Central China have tried to establish their autonomicspace within the “sandwiches”. The investigation has revealed the following common features of successful TGWCs： the township government officials’ informed selectivity； reduced job scopes； autonomicspace creation in the interactive relationships to the governments at the county level （characterized of both dependency and soft resistance）； autonomicspace expansion in the interactive relationships to the villagers at the grass roots when strategically mobilizing and utilizing all types of powers； and formation of an active and effective system， and even an office culture， to ensure a success in the assessment by their authorities. Thus， TGWCs’ autonomicspace is created.


The Legitimacy of SpaceTime Conversion：A Case Study on the Grassroots Chamber of Commerce in Fujie

Tao Qing

2008, 28(4):  107-125 . 

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The Theory of Legitimacy deals with the legitimacy of folk societies and the legitimacy of governmental authorities. In the times of governing the state via laws， why would the local government recognize the illegitimate Grassroots Chamber of Commerce in Jujie? On the one hand， the Principle of Justice sees the legitimate foundation of that organization； on the other hand， the local government has sensed the crisis in the legitimacy of its own authority. Now temporarily hanging above the laws， the local government and folk society are supplementing their own imperfect legitimacy， respectively， in their interaction so that free but effective spacetime conversion of the “illegitimacy” and “legitimacy” within the legal framework is accomplished. The authority of the local government and the rights of a folk society can benefit each other during reorganizing the social order and coexisting. The research on the Fujie experience reported in this paper shows that the crisis in the legitimacy of the local government’s authority and the crisis in the legitimacy of folk organizations are in fact two sides of just one problem. Only with both sides’ cooperation and grant of the legitimacy to the other party can each get out of its own temporary predicament.

The Stigmatic Situation and the Coping Strategies：A Case Study of the Adaptation of the Floating Population to Urban Life and the Community Change

Zhang Youting

2008, 28(4):  126-147 . 

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This paper discusses two topics： The first is about how the floating population uses collective strategies for the central concern of urban life adaptation derived from social interaction and relational ties in order to lower survival risks due to the stigmatic situation and the institutional exclusion； the second is about how the collective network based on dailylife practice interacts with the community structure， which in turn affects the development of the community. The author’s empirical study of a community condense with migrating workers confirmed the initiative of these migrating workers as agents of social practice. Their adoption of different strategies for assimilation， relational adaptation and developmental adaptation to adjust to the urban life in different stages showed their selfdetermined selectivity when facing the stigmatic situation， which resulted in the overall structural change of the migration community. Placing the adaptation process of the floating population while adjusting to the urban life in the context of their community change， the author used the analytic approach focused on coemerging and covarying to overcome the simplification tendency in the assimilation theory so that a better understanding of the floating population could be achieved.

Interests， Games， and Pension Reform：Analysis of Pension System by Political Sociology

Yang lixiong

2008, 28(4):  148-172 . 

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This paper discusses the interest games in the process of pension reform and the trend of pension privatization by employing the neopluralism theory. The research on Latin America and CentralEastern Europe demonstrates that the pension reforms in those areas benefit from their special political systems， support from exogenous actors and the powerful drive from the government， and that the reduced resistance against pension reforms can be attributed to lacking of veto points and weak social organizations. In contrast， the analysis of the situations in the U.S.A， UK， and EU reveals the tremendous difficulty in pension privatization due to diversified interests， multilevel veto points， and powerful trade unions.



American Family in the Postmodern Era： Theoretical Disputes and Empirical Studies

Chen Xuan

2008, 28(4):  173-186 . 

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The relation between social developments and family pattern changes has always been a focal area in American sociology. This paper reviews the structuralfunctionalist construction of the ideal type of modern family and its impact on American family studies. It also analyzes the cuttingedge empirical family studies on family pattern changes in the United States during the postmodern era since the 1990s， including divorce， singleparent families， cohabitation， and samesex marriages. Empirical findings indicate that the ideal modern family pattern has lost its dominance in today’s American society， and that the basis of modern marriage and the family institution as well， has been challenged. Feminists have proposed the new concept of “postmodern family”； social scholars have also taken theoretical approaches to address the direction of family changes in this era. The empirical studies and theoretical discussion of the changes in the American family pattern are of great referential value to the study of marriage and family changes in China during this era of globalization.

An Environmental Anthropology Approach to Grassland Desertification： Village B in Northern Maowusu Desert as an Example

Zhang Wen

2008, 28(4):  187-205 . 

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Taking village B in northern Maowusu Desert as an example， this paper attempts to study the problem of grassland desertification in the perspective of environmental anthropology. The author analyzes how a set of modern systems （the responsibility system for grassland and livestock； market mechanisms） implemented by the state since the 1980s， and the culture that is embedded in them （concept of privately owned land； attitudes toward natural capitals） have changed the local people’s original herding pattern， economic mode， cooperation spirit and the ideas about the nature， which aggravated the problem of grassland desertification to some extent. The author points out the logical relationships between modernity and desertification.

Attitudes Towards Risks：A Study on Security of the Public

Wang Junxiu

2008, 28(4):  206-221 . 

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From the theories of human needs， the Risk Society Theory， and the Theory of Insecure Times， this research project involved a questionnaire survey of 7，100 resident households from 28 provinces and cities across the country to study the public’s attitudes towards physical security， property security， food security， workplace security， and private information security. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis revealed significant variables of social stability， public security， living environment， gender， education， health， and socioeconomic status on people’s sense of security. Risk perception and risk status were concurrent predictors of risk assessment.