Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Whose privilege?

A week or so ago, I asked a question about how the distribution of wealth and income affects politics. That issue came up twice this morning as I read the news.

First NPR featured a story about a photograph of the new American ambassador to China that is causing quite a stir on the Chinese Internet.

Then, I read a story in The Washington Post about the super-rich in China and how they love to display their wealth.

Discuss among yourselves.

Ambassador Locke Picks Up His Own Coffee, Gains 'Hero' Status Among Chinese

Some pictures of the brand new U.S. ambassador to China are causing quite a stir…

We'll explain: Someone took a picture of Ambassador Gary Locke buying his own coffee at Starbucks in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. And, then, later pictures showed Locke and his family arriving at a Chinese airport carrying their own bags.

Ambassador Locke buying coffee

Many Chinese were incredulous.

"I think people look at him like a hero this time," Chen Weihua told "All Things Considered's" Melissa Block. Weihua is a columnist for China Daily, the country's national English-language newspaper, and he joked that to many Chinese Locke looked like a "migrant worker."…

But as silly as it may sound, the episode touched a nerve, said Weihua, and has led to some introspection.

"This is really the new image of what public servants should be," said Weihua. "Right now in China there is a big debate about the spending of government officials. The public called for more transparency of the spending by government."

And that a top ambassador from the United States buys his own coffee and carries his own bags puts pressure on Chinese officials to be more transparent or in the least to be more humble.

China’s newly rich are flaunting wealth — and giving Communist rulers a headache

China’s new rich love luxury products — imported French handbags, Italian sports cars — and even more, they love to show off their bling.

Gold plated car in Beijing

That seems to be creating headaches for China’s Communist rulers, who after three decades of exhorting their subjects to get rich are facing growing discontent over a widening income gap. Officials now talk about making sure wealth is more evenly distributed, and how to get the rich to tone it down…

“The government is facing a conflict,” said Michael Ouyang, representative of the World Luxury Association in China. “They don’t want to promote luxury because they are worried people who cannot afford it will see the advertisements. But they don’t want to limit luxury products because it’s good for the economy. So they’re facing a dilemma.”

It doesn’t help the government’s case when the rich keep showing off their bling…

Experts say the phenomenon of showing off wealth is a complex one, rooted in China’s long struggles with poverty and famine, and a sense that expensive possessions confer a higher social status.

“Showing off wealth shows that China’s economic development has not been long, and Chinese society’s psychology of consumption is still not mature,” said Hu Xingdou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology. “In China, wealth is the only criteria to measure social status. People hope to show they have a higher social status by wearing luxurious brands.”…

On popular microblogging sites, many in China are openly questioning whether the country’s new creed of amassing wealth has gone too far…

Also, a millionaire in Shanxi province caused a stir, and became the subject of a video that went viral, after a guard at a Qing Dynasty tomb site told him that the underground tombs were closed to the public. The millionaire began throwing cash at the guard’s feet, demanding to go inside and claiming he had enough money to buy the ancient tombs...