Polarized Cities: Portraits of Rich and Poor in Urban China

Polarized cities : portraits of rich and poor in urban China. Edited by Dorothy J. Solinger. Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. 208 p. ISBN : 978-1-5381-1647-0

Présentation

This powerful book presents a fresh and compelling set of portraits that bring to life the human dimension of the vast and growing social and economic divides in urban China. Leading scholars explore the increasing rigidity of class and social boundaries, focusing on two new “castes” in contemporary China’s cities—the immensely wealthy and the abjectly poor. Much has been made of the rise in incomes, the elimination of much rural poverty, and the expansion of an urban middle class over almost forty years of spectacular economic growth. But what often has been overlooked is the polarization, exclusion, and exclusiveness in cities that have accompanied this rise, along with the threat that these trends will extend to future generations. The book considers five cases that emblematize these castes and depict their varying degrees of agency. Highlighting the social groups at opposite ends of the social hierarchy, the contributors illuminate the growing inequality in urban China today.

Sommaire sur le site de l’éditeur

Des extraits de l’ouvrage peuvent être téléchargés à partir de la page des publications de Dorothy J. Solinger : https://www.socsci.uci.edu/~dorjsoli/download.html. Attention cependant : il s’agit de manuscrits de travail, versions postprint (version acceptée par l’éditeur).

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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