The Paradox of Middle-Class Attitudes in China: Democracy, Social Stability, and Reform

Journal article | Zeitschriftenartikel

This article explores the seemingly paradoxical attitudes of the Chinese middle class towards democracy, social stability, and reform. Using fieldwork data from Ningbo, this article shows that a group of objective, middle-class individuals can concurrently display high levels of support for democratic principles and low levels of participation in real-life socio-political events. Being generally confident in China’s social stability, these individuals have little to no desire for significant democratic reform, or indeed any reform that occurs outside the purview of the state, as it is considered destabilising. By highlighting the distinction between how these members of the middle class respond to generic democratic concepts, real-life socio-political affairs, and the idea of democratic reform, this article argues that the Chinese middle class are aware of what “should be,” what “could be,” and what “is,” which lends their socio-political attitudes a paradoxical appearance. (author's abstract)

Object Details

• ISSN: 1868-4874
• Extent: Seite(n): 169-190
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Status: Veröffentlichungsversion; begutachtet (peer reviewed)

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 45(1)

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Politikwissenschaft ; Soziologie, Anthropologie ; Allgemeine Soziologie, Makrosoziologie, spezielle Theorien und Schulen, Entwicklung und Geschichte der Soziologie ; politische Willensbildung, politische Soziologie, politische Kultur ; China ; Mittelschicht ; Wertwandel ; politische Einstellung ; Wert ; Wertorientierung ; soziale Stabilität ; Demokratisierung ; politische Reform ; Reformbereitschaft ; Einstellungsforschung ; Ostasien

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Miao, Ying
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Deutschland
• (when): 2016

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:gbv:18-4-9509
• Last update: 21.06.2024, 4:27 PM CEST