Consumerism, Confucianism, Communism: Making Sense of China Today

In: New left review: NLR, Heft 222, S. 43-59

Abstract

China, with the world's fastest growing economy, is in the midst of a series of qualitative historical changes, & perhaps is making her final leap towards the "dreamland of modernity." This paper explores the overt & hidden problems of China's growth. The central problem addressed here is the rise of a rampant mass consumerism, one of the most obvious, though unintended, consequences of the attempt at modernization through privatization & the free market. It is argued that a new kind of consumerism is arising in China, one that deserves critical & immediate attention. This article traces its rise & then looks at its social & psychological roots in the puritan communism of Mao's China. Next, the paper looks at unequal consumption as a result of the widening gap between the rich & the poor in the 1990s, & pays particular attention to the conspicuous consumption of the "new economic elites." Finally, the paper explores some of the social, political & environmental implications of this current wave of mass consumption, & raises a few doubts about national development & modernization generally. The problems are serious, but solutions are even harder to find. 43 References. T. K. Brown