The Price of China's Economic Development: Power, Capital, and the Poverty of Rights

309 Pages·2015·1.18 MB·English

by  Zhaohui Hong

The Price of China’s
Economic Development

ThE PriCE of
China’s

EConomiC
DEvEloPmEnT
★
Power, Capital,
and the
Poverty of rights
Zhaohui hong
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Copyright © 2015 by The university Press of Kentucky
scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine university, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky,
Eastern Kentucky university, The filson historical society, georgetown
College, Kentucky historical society, Kentucky state university, morehead state
university, murray state university, northern Kentucky university, Transylvania
university, university of Kentucky, university of louisville, and Western
Kentucky university.
all rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The university Press of Kentucky
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library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
hong, Zhaohui, 1959–
The price of China’s economic development : power, capital, and the poverty of
rights / Zhaohui hong.
pages cm. — (asia in the new millennium)
includes bibliographical references and index.
isBn 978-0-8131-6115-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) —
isBn 978-0-8131-6116-7 (pdf) — isBn 978-0-8131-6117-4 (epub)
1. Economic development—China. 2. human rights—China. 3. China—social
conditions—1949– 4. China—Economic conditions—1949– 5. China—Politics
and government—1949– i. Title.
hC427.95.h68155 2015
338.951—dc23 2015006202
This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting
the requirements of the american national standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed library materials.
manufactured in the united states of america.
member of the association of
american university Presses
To lan, nicole, and Emma

Contents
introduction. a Tale of Two Chinas: Power-Capital China and
rights-Deprived China 1
Part I. The Power-Capital Institution: The Haves
1. Economy: The marriage between Power and money 25
2. Entrepreneurs: from “red Capitalists” to intellectual Elites 39
3. Political Culture: Combining Tradition and innovation with “Chinese
Characteristics” 59
Part II. The Poverty of Rights: The Have-Nots
4. urban China: The forgotten Corners 89
5. rural China: The Divested farmers 107
6. migrant laborers: from Economic Deprivation to social
segregation 127
7. Protestant house Churches: from legal Exclusion to religious
repression 159
Conclusion: The linkage between the Power-Capital institution and the
Poverty of rights 193
acknowledgments 201
notes 205
selected Bibliography 259
index 281

Introduction
A Tale of Two Chinas:
Power-Capital China and
Rights-Deprived China
it has been more than thirty-five years since China embarked on a road
of economic reform and modernization that has led to the most dramatic
economic development, social transformation, and cultural metamorpho-
sis in its five-thousand-year history. China’s rapid development has chal-
lenged established theories about economic modernization, which do not
seem applicable to the peculiar Chinese situation.1
The last few decades have seen a great number of in-depth studies on
China’s economic development. however, while the world is recognizing
and marveling at China’s economic accomplishments, few, if any, works
have examined the social and cultural price of the nation’s economic devel-
opment in a systematic and comprehensive fashion. analyzing a series of
puzzling and seemingly incomprehensible phenomena generated by the
process of China’s economic development requires all interested scholars
to make an effort at mapping China’s development and in interpreting the
progression of human civilization as a whole.
This book will discuss the price of Chinese economic development, focus-
ing on social and cultural consequences since 1978 from historical and com-
parative perspectives. it will provide a comprehensive account of how much
China has paid to reach its current stage of development. The perception of
the “China miracle” or “China model” is incomplete if the price of economic
development is ignored, miscalculated, misperceived, or misinterpreted.2
overall, the book will concentrate on the institutional costs, social price, and
cultural consequences of China’s economic development since 1978.
1