Materialist politics in China
And in China, a young, upwardly mobile couple adapts to conditions there. Unlike the entrepreneurs who are featured in most Western reporting, they're cautious. It's a reminder that economic choices, like political opinions, come in great variety.In China, a State Job Still Brings Benefits And Bragging Rights
"Tian Bing received his master's degree last month, which instantly made the law and computer science graduate a hot prospect in China's booming economy. Yet he has already rejected job offers from an aerospace company, a bank and the computer division of a prestigious foreign company.
"Instead, Tian started a new job this week reviewing patent applications in the state intellectual property office. He doesn't know his salary yet but expects it will be less than half what the bank would have paid.
"'Lots of people around me say that being a civil servant can have better benefits than private companies,' said Tian, 26. 'Each time my parents and I talk about jobs, they always ask me to find a government job, because being a civil servant means a safe job, good medical welfare and a good retirement pension.'
China may be rushing headlong into capitalism, with unfettered private development and a runaway stock market, but many people here are still chasing after state jobs...
"Since the Communist takeover in 1949, the government has provided cradle-to-grave jobs for much of the Chinese population, with benefits ranging from apartments and subsidized hospital stays to shampoo and toilet paper.
"Leaders began dismantling the mostly bankrupt state-owned factory system beginning in the 1990s...
"But many people still lack the courage to "jump into the sea" of private entrepreneurship, as the Chinese saying goes, preferring instead the dependability of lower-paying jobs in schools, police stations, post offices and the civil service...
"In addition to material goods, state-run companies also traditionally provided emotional support. Citizens were encouraged to report their problems so that the leaders of their work units could help. Employees were told to treat each other like brothers and sisters, a form of solidarity aimed at enabling people to work harder...
"The danwei used to control its workers' marriages and divorces, but no longer. Employees no longer have to seek approval for hotel reservations and airline tickets, so bosses no longer determine who is allowed to travel..."
Labels: China, economics, politics
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home