Chinese Journal of Sociology

The Logic of the Financial Crisis and Its Social Consequences

Sun liping

2009, 29(2): 1-29.

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China’s current economic problem has developed in the context of America’s financial crisis， but it is basically a traditional economic crisis of overproduction resulting from the difficulty with the transition from the time for living necessities to the time for durable goods. The financial crisis originated from the U.S. has just triggered a breeding crisis of overproduction in China； reasonably， the problem of America is not necessarily the same as the problem of China. What China is facing now is characterized of a traditional economic crisis of overproduction， which is the prerequisite for analyzing China’s problems and discussing the social consequences of this economic crisis. China’s problems mainly reflect the tangible economy and their extending effects on society. In this condition， the important task for us is to utilize the current economic crisis to create conditions for a successful transition from the time for living necessities to the time for durable goods so that a real transformation of developing modes is accomplished. At the same time， China should construct its social security network as a filtration mechanism to either insolate or slow down the effects of an economic crisis on society.

Why Hasn’t China Moved toward ConsumptionDirected Society? The Strategy of Low-Cost Development and the Transformation Predicament in the Process of Modernization

WANG Ning

2009, 29(2): 30-52.

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he global economic crisis resulting from the USA’s financial crisis in 2008 is also a heavy blow to China’s economy. For the first time this crisis has let the Chinese people experience in such a profoundly way the negative effects of underconsumption by the majority of the low and lowermiddle classes. In its essence， the problem of insufficient domestic consumption demands is related to the fundamental problem of the social class structure. For a long period， China’s institutional arrangements are in support of a productiondirected society rather than a consumptiondirected society， and China is not prepared yet to move toward the latter. What accounts for the persistence of the productionoriented society is the strategy of lowcost development. This paper examines and reflects on the logic and the consequences of such a strategy， and concludes that， in the era of overproduction， with geographical expansion of the market approaching to its maximum， China has entered the stage of social expansion of the market. In so doing， China must adjust the social class structure， give up the productionist view of human resources， treat the laborer not only as a productive factor but also as consumers or a consumer market， and thus push the productiondirected society toward a consumptiondirected society.

Cost Analysis and Managerial Decision Making in the Household Industry ：the Plastic Industry in Baiyangdian as n Example

LIU Yu-Zhao

2009, 29(2): 53-78.

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In studying the household industry， there are two classic models: Chayanov’s “farm household model” and Becker’s “household production model”. This paper reports the findings of a case study on the action logic in the cost analysis and managerial decision making in the plastic industry in Baiyangdian， Hebei province. To the families in the household industry during industrialization， the imperfect productionelements market and the unique organizational property of the household industry have not only made production decisionmaking inseparable from consumption decisionmaking but also have subjected the two to the influence of the household structure that is related to the family life cycle even when only general commodities are produced for the market.

Recognition of the Rural Female Self：A Feminism Research of Enshi TujiaLung Village

CUI Ying-Ling

2009, 29(2): 79-98.

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Traditional feminists believe that women’s self is the “otherness” without subjectivity. Modern feminists point out critically that women’s self has subjectivity although in essence it is the rational subjectivity reflective of their various survival “strategies”. Based on the field study of the women in Enshi TujiaLung Village， this paper proposes the idea of “emotional subjectivity constituting the female self”. Emotional subjectivity has two characteristics of inclusivity and exclusivity. Its meaning is also twofolded: Women make special contributions to the social solidarity and integration in the rural areas via their care for others’ lives and their help to the less fortunate for no or little profit； and women make contributions to the social changes in the rural areas via their noncalculated， spontaneous activities out of emotion that are not in accordance with the accustomed rituals or rules.

Consensus of Justice by the Civil: Analysis of the “Estate Inheritance Case of Ye Yuzhen”

ZHU Tao

2009, 29(2): 99-111.

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Within the twodimensional framework (the state and the civil) in the legal order， Huang Zongzhi’s “practical view” and Zhang Jing’s “profit distribution view” represent the two explanatory perspectives on the civil dimension. This paper focuses on the recognition of justice by the folk using the “Estate Inheritance Case of Ye Yuzhen”. Both the state and the civil agree on the abstract principle that “justice means the consistency between rights and obligations”，but disagree when it comes to the concrete contents of obligations， showing a conflict in the understanding of individual obligations and family obligations. This paper reviews the historical changes in the widows’ estate inheritance rights since Ming and Qing Dynasties to reveal where agreement and disagreement exist in the perception of justice by the state and the civil. The paper finally points out that， on the civil dimension， “recognition of justice by the civil” has been neglected as an explanatory perspective and that this perspective should be added in the process to achieve the legal order.

Cumulative Heterogeneity：Differentiation of Older Adults from the LifeCourse Perspective

HU Wei

2009, 29(2): 112-130.

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Taking the lifecourse perspective， the author conducted indepth interviews of older adults to gather their past life information from their narratives. This paper attempts to analyze the interweaving of the individual’s life course and societal changes with an emphasis on the individual’s agency and the temporality of the life course， as well as the internal mechanisms for the constant differentiation in this process. This study has shown that aging is a process of continuous accumulation and differentiation along the dimension of time. The order of the factors for accumulation has a very important impact on the differentiation among the individuals. Accumulation is a product of the lifecourse capital interacting with the lifecourse risks， and it is a dynamic process of the individual’s agency interacting with social structures. Changes of social policies have a decisive impact on the cumulative process.

An Exploration and Analysis of the SubGroup Structures Among RuralUrban Migrant Workers：Based on the Study of Social Support Networks

YUE Zhong-Shan, DU Hai-Feng, LI Shu-Zhu, Marcus W. Feldman

2009, 29(2): 131-146.

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Applying the NewmanGirvan algorithm to the data from “Shenzhen RuralUrban Migrants Survey” in 2005， this study identified the subgroups in the ruralurban migrant workers’ social support networks， analyzed their number， size， and cohesiveness， and discussed the roles of occupational ties， lood bonds and location bonds in these subgroups. The current study obtained the following findings: Ruralurban migrant worker’s social support networks were clearly characterized of their subgrouping； the cohesiveness of their social support networks varied by sex and occupations； there were significant differences in the cohesiveness between the tangible， the emotional， and the social networks； mixedsex networks showed lower cohesiveness than singlesex networks； manufacture workers’ groups varied more in cohesiveness， whereas construction workers commonly formed more coherent groups； occupational ties played an important role in bonding manufacture workers， whereas location was the major bond to connect construction workers although there were signs for the role of their occupational ties.

Work Units’ Ownership Forms and Differences in Utilizing Social Networks for Jobs：An Empirical Study of the Migrant Peasant Workers in the Pearl River Delta

XIA Lei

2009, 29(2): 147-161.

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Scholars at home and abroad who are studying the market transition in China have been focusing on the effects of marketization in China as well as in work units of different ownerships on the labor market. The present empirical study of the migrant peasant workers in the secondary labor market found that， with the occupational mobility increased， there was no decrease in these workers’ utilization of their social networks in their job hunt. They relied upon their ascribed kinship networks to a lesser degree but increasing their use of newlydeveloped social networks during their job changes. This study also found that the marketization differences among the work units of different ownerships affected the migrant peasant workers’ choice of jobhunting methods. Those entering the work units with a higher degree of marketization were more likely to get their jobs through the market channels， whereas those entering the work units with a lower degree of marketization were more likely to depend upon their social networks for jobs.

A Two-Tier View of “Relation” and “Structure”：An Empirical Study of the Relationship Between the Social Network and Job Performance

YAO Jun

2009, 29(2): 162-178.

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Social networks have become an important influencing factor of job performance at the nonindividual level. Many studies have focused on the influence of an organization’s internal structure on job performance but overlooked the influence of the social networks at the external level of the organization. The current survey of the realtors in the real estate business explored the different impacts of “relational” and “structural” social networks on job performance and analyzed the theoretical basis to account for the differences.

Setback Experience， Human Capital， Enterprise System， and Urban Workers’ Perception of Social Injustice: An Investigation of Ten Enterprises

LUO Zhong-Yong, WEI Jian-Wen

2009, 29(2): 179-198.

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The investigation of the cognition and judgment (i.e.， social injustice perception) of 921 workers in 10 enterprises that differed in ownership forms found that urban workers had an overall strong impression of social injustice， including economic injustice， physiological injustice， and social injustice， in a descending order in terms of potency. Setback experience， human capital and enterprise system all had some effects on workers’ social injustice perception. To be more specific， setback experience accounted for， to some extent， workers’ perception of economic injustice， social injustice， and physiological injustice； enterprise system for economic and social injustices； and human capital for social and physiological injustices.

he Impact of Conjugal Resources on Rural Women’s Expectation of Housework Division in the Context of Leaving Home for Employment in Other Places: A Survey in Juchao of Anhui Province

LI Liang, YANG Xue-Yan

2009, 29(2): 199-214.

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Using the data from the survey on the rural inhabitants in Juchao of Anhui province by the Institute for Population and Development Studies of Xi’an Jiaotong University in 2005， this paper analyzes the impact of conjugal resources on rural women’s expectation of housework division when they leave home for employment in other places. The findings suggest that those who have had such work experience are more likely than those who have not to expect their husbands to share housework. The impact of women’s income and education on their expectation of nontraditional housework division was significant. The interaction between the work experience and conjugal resources indicates that， as the constraint of traditional gender norms weakens， the women’s work experience has augmented the effects of their educational resources relative to their husbands’ on their nontraditional expectation of housework division； however， the work experience did not enhance the effects of such women’s earnings.

An Overview of the Papers Published in the Important Journals in Western Sociology in 2007

MA Rong

2009, 29(2): 215-222.

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