SOCI2106/UGEC2883
Economic Reform and
Social Impacts in China
Lecture one:
The Great Transformation
Economic Miracle Since 1978?
China GDP per capita
Social Impacts of Economic Reform
Migration
Trade union
and strike
Industrial
disaster
Students
activism
Ethnic
relations
Environment
Global
impact
Xi’s Speech Celebrating 40th
anniversary of Reform
“
China is the world's second largest economy, the largest
manufacturing country, the largest country in terms of trade
in goods, the second largest country in commodity
consumption, and the second largest country in foreign
capital inflow. China's foreign exchange reserves rank first in
the world for many years.
Chinese people are making decisive steps on the path of
getting richer and stronger.”
中國人民在富起來、強起來的征程上邁出了決定性的步伐！
Political Discourse on Transformation
The Chinese People have
stood Up! 站起來
Has grown rich
富起來
Has become strong
強起來
Planned economy and
public/collective ownership
Neo-liberal market
Reform and
Social reform and
recentralization of power?
A Theoretical Approach
Great Transformation (Polanyi, 1944)
“The expansion of market forces [from late 18th to early
20th century] destroyed ‘society’ and would sooner or later
be met by a countermovement aiming at conservation of
man and nature…”
---Polanyi (1944)
Karl Polanyi,
1886-1964
The Third Wave of Marketization (Burawoy, 2010)
Polanyi's Concept of Double-Movement

The commodification of labour, land and money generated
“counter-movements” to defend society.

“Double-Movement”: society defends itself against domination
of self-regulating market.

The first movement: the expansion of market to destroy
communities, people’s livelihood and the nature.

The second movement: society's reaction against first
movement.
Application of Polanyi’s Theory to China
（See Wang, 2008)


First Movement: Marketization from “socialist economy” to “market
economy”
Second Movement: People’s protective countermovement  state’s
correction of market by social policies
From neo-liberalism to state liberalism?
(will be discussed in lecture 2)
State
Society
Market
Visit to Civil Society Organizations Working on China(26 Sept)
Advocacy for environmental protection in China
Students and Scholars Against
Corporate Misbehaviour
(大學師生監察無良企業行動)
We may add more organizations, depending
on the number of students enrolled in the
course after the add-drop period.