Chinese society on the eve of Tiananmen : the impact of reform : Workshop on "The social consequences of the post-Mao reforms" : Papers

'By the late 1970s, state communism was everywhere in retreat. First in Eastern Europe, then in China and the Soviet Union, party leaders were compelled to devise fundamental departures from the economic procedures and structures they had confidently installed at the outset of their revolutionary victories. Perhaps no country departed more rapidly from communist economic structures than China. Within five years of Mao Zedong's death, reformers led by Deng Xiaoping had dismantled the people's communes and created a range of markets that established the institutional foundations for a new form of socialism. But, unlike the Soviets and Eastern Europeans, the Chinese reformers refused to consider parallel changes in political institutions. The demonstrations in Beijing in 1989 made it clear that post-Mao economic policies had created unavoidable political consequences for the society and its leaders. In individual case studies, the twelve contributors to this volume document the uneven decollectivization and decentralization of China's economy in the post-Mao years and the great diversity of the social and political consequences. They deal with the effects of the more materialistic and individualistic reward system on both public and private life in the countryside and in urban settings and the new expectations that economic changes engendered.' The Fate Of The Collective After The Commune / Jean C. Oi -- Political Reforms And Rural Government / Tyren White -- The Politics Of Migration In A Market Town / Helen F. Siu -- Urban Job Mobility / Deborah Davis -- Micropolitics And The Factory Director Responsibility System, 1984-1987 / Yves Chevrier. Economic Reform And Income Distribution In Tianjin, 1976-1986 / Andrew G. Walder -- Urban Private Business And Social Change / Thomas B. Gold -- Changes In Mate Choice In Chengdu / Martin King Whyte -- New Options For The Urban Elderly / Charlotte Ikels -- The Spiritual Crisis Of China's Intellectuals / Richard Madsen -- Inward Inequality In Health Care / Gail Henderson -- The Impact Of Reform Policies On Youth Attitudes / Stanley Rosen. Edited By Deborah Davis And Ezra F. Vogel. Papers First Presented At A Workshop Held At Harvard University In May 1988. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Chinese Society on the Eve of Tiananmen: The Impact of Reform CONTRIBUTORS CONTENTS Introduction: The Social and Political Consequences of Reform PART ONE RURAL SOCIETY AND POLITICS 1 The Fate of the Collective after the Commune 2 Political Reform and Rural Government 3 The Politics of Migration in a Market Town PART TWO URBAN REFORMS AND URBAN WORKERS 4 Urban job Mobility 5 Micropolitics and the Factory Director Responsibility System, 1984- 1987 6 Economic Riform and Income Distribution in Tianjin, 1976-1986 7 Urban Private Business and Social Change PART THREE URBAN SOCIETY 8 Changes in Mate Choice in Chengdu 9 New Options for the Urban Elderly 10 The Spiritual Crisis of China's Intellectuals PART FOUR NATIONAL TRENDS 11 Increased Inequality in Health Care 12 The Impact of Reform Policies on Youth Attitudes Chronology Appendix: Chronology Notes Glossary Selected Bibliography Index This volume documents the uneven decollectivization and decentralization of China's economy in the post-Mao years and its consequences. It deals with the effects of the materialistic and individualistic reward system on both public and private life in the countryside and in urban settings and the new expectations that economic changes engendered.