Changing Identities in Contemporary China - Essay Example

Changing Identities in Contemporary China China is one of the oldest countries in the world, having existed for morethan two millennia and developed a culture that has remained prevalent throughout its history. However, despite its having had a culture, which was far superior to that of other nations in the world, it still, had a hard time turning into a modern state. Indeed, very few attempts were made to modernise this country prior to the 1970s under the leadership of President Deng Xiaopang. The massive economic growth can be attributed to the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party to accelerate the growth of the economy as well as improve the lives of the people within this country. However, while this may have been the case, and despite China having developed into one of the most prosperous economies in the world, it has come to be plagued by serious corruption, which is believed to be a threat to its well-earned position on the global stage. In order to tackle the problem of corruption, it is essential that China implement the Confucian basis of the state to ensure that leaders serve the people first before themselves and their families. Confucian beliefs were highly prevalent in China before the establishment of the People’s Republic and its basic tenets were usually taken for granted. However, in the modern world, most of its teachings especially concerning government have come to be abandoned in favour of western ways (Pye 1978, p.122). It has also come to face some serous criticism in some circles with some politicians stating that among the reasons for China’s relatively slow path to modernisation was based on its belief in Confucian teachings, which established a strictly bureaucratic state and society that did not attempt to move towards modernisation (Paludan 1998, p.145). It has further been stated that Confucian teachings often concentrated on the development of the intellect rather than innovation and this ensured that many Chinese chose to remain in an almost static state. A result was that because of the influence of Confucianism, it became the norm for many of the Chinese people to want their lives to remain the same. Such notions about Confucianism are not true considering that Confucians, or individuals who believed in Confucian teachings were often the individuals who ran government and these presided over the various developments that took place in China. Without their beliefs in these teachings, it is possible that corruption would have been a basic part of Chinese government’s centuries before the rise of the People’s Republic. The erosion of Confucian beliefs in the Chinese administration in later centuries had a lasting effect in the development of corruption in the country. This erosion created a situation where the land distribution policy of the Chinese government did not change because despite their having been many dynasties which ruled China from the ancient to the modern period. One will find that despite these numerous dynastic changes, none of the administrative rituals nor was the system of governance significantly changed to encourage the growth of the society (Holcombe 2005, p.6). The elite, has essentially retained the same characteristics and it is these who have continued to dominate all matters of importance in the society. In modern China, it has essentially become in the interests of these individuals to ensure that everything remains the same because it is the established system that ensures that their power is secure (He and Warren 2011, p.272). It is possible that it is the elite, which have fostered the static nature of Chinese society since it allowed them to remain dominant while at the same time keeping the lower classes of the society subservient to their interests. The disregard for Confucian tradition may have brought about a situation where corruption in China led to its not taking advantage of its unique position to serve the interests of its people. This is especially because while this country was able to develop innovative ideas and inventions such as the use of paper money as well as the invention of gunpowder and despite the economic and military gains that could have been achieved using these inventions, the Chinese state did not take advantage of them (Vohra 1999, p.13). Instead, the state ended up relying on the legalist tradition of not getting involved in martial activities or aggressively taking part in military development. The result is that China failed to take advantage of its achievements to further develop into a modern state, which was not only technologically advanced, but also one which could assert its influence on the rest of the world. The coming to power of the Communist Party under Mao Zedong did not help matters for China because of the purges, which constantly took place to ensure that his leadership was secure (Butterfield 1982, p.345; Bernstein 2006, p.423). It was only after the coming to power of Deng Xiaoping that China finally embraced its destiny as a leader in the world through the modernisation of its economy, military and society (Gardels 2011, p.61). While this may have been the case, it is essential to note that corruption has become even more rampant in Chinese society as members of the ruling Communist Party and their families have formed an essentially imperial elite; taking advantage of their position to enrich themselves. The lack of Confucian values that it prevalent within the elite has made it increase its excesses using its position and this has increased the potential for disaster if significant reforms are not put in place. Over the past two decades, the People’s Republic of China has become one of the biggest economies in the world, and in doing so; millions of Chinese have ended up in a situation where they have not benefitted from their massive economy. It should be noted that some of the common scenes witnessed in Beijing are majority of people living in poor conditions offering window-washing services for the elite and the wealthy driving high-class vehicles. Recent statistics have shown that the Gini coefficient of China over the past decade have revolved around 47-49%; which can be considered to be reasonably high (Ebrey, 2013, p.527). This situation has required that the country fast track its reforms on income distribution in order to narrow the gap present between the rich and the poor. Some of the main problems faced by the policy makers within the Communist Party include the low income of the grassroots workers from the western part of China and the unfair wealth distribution between the eastern cities making the rest of the population poor. The lack of Confucian values within the elite has created a situation where they tolerate the unequal distribution of wealth, which has a potential of causing social conflicts as well as a potential of great conflicts in future while undermining the Confucian belief in work ethic and a government that serves the interests of the population. It should be noted that the problem of wealth distribution has built up over the past several decades and there has been no quick solution to the problem.  Dramatic status enhancement for wage earning individuals is one major determinant for social change in the late nineties and it had no effect on the market. Developing a high consuming society is an outcome of social engineering project of states that are contemporary reformists and its agencies since this is a consequence of opening up of the economy and society at large (Tomba, 2004, p.2). The distribution of wealth in the People’s Republic of China has been a matter of concern for many years with a significant number of the millionaires being private business owners, high-salaried executives, stock market gurus, and property speculators. The super-rich individuals in China are often property speculators, stock market specialists and private business individuals and these are normally individuals who are well connected with the elite within the Communist Party. The so-called super-rich in this country tend to be those who use the position of their friends or relatives in power to ensure that they attain the contracts or licences necessary to make their path in business smoother. Other members of Chinese society have to go through massive bureaucratic hurdles in order to establish successful businesses and the elite and their relatives having an easy time of it has led to an increase in resentment from the rest of society. While this may be the case, however, when it comes to personal investment, real estate is the first choice despite the fact that it requires significant amounts of capital especially when one considers the booming property market in China. There has developed a serious need for a return of Confucian concepts in government because it is the principles contained therein that will ensure that the Chinese government is not only able to serve its people better, but it also maintains social order. Because the elite often serve their own and the interests of their friends, it has become normal for many of these to spend most of their time travelling while others are interested in seeking unique travel experience or exotic destinations such as Africa, polar areas among other areas that are gaining popularity. Most of the rich individuals spend their time on business trips, which ensures that they are able to experience broad advantages that are not available to other Chinese because the latter are not well connected in government (Wang 2005, p.532). Among the elite, there has developed a demand for going abroad to study and an increasing propensity to purchase properties from overseas with the United States is the top destination for overseas purchase of properties. On the contrary, over one hundred and fifty million rural migrant workers have not gained access to various benefits such as healthcare insurance, pensions, and education systems that are available to residents living in urban centres. The rural to urban migrants are forced to save more of their wages in order to cover medical expenses and retirements, with most of their incomes being taken up by higher food prices and the rising costs of housing in the cities. This is in contrast to the rich who have greater advantages in society because they have the ability to buy more luxurious lives than their compatriots do. The lack of the Confucian ideal of government can be seen where government officials have been noted for receiving undisclosed incomes, which range from kickbacks to perks such as subsidized housing (Mahoney 2009, p.138). Moreover, state run corporations have become a source of massive income for some of the elite in society and these have become wealthier while a significant portion of the population has remained poor. In most instances, it has been found that the wealthy earn up sixty five times of what is earned by the poor in China; showing the manner through which Confucianism has remained a state principle in name only.  China’s economic growth that has been rapid over the last thirty years has been greeted with many unquestioned assumptions that it will eventually lead to a happy, wealthy and an equitable society. While a significant portion of the population is denied the opportunity to live the kind of life described before, there are implied acceptances that come with such assumptions where some individuals would get rich faster and the benefits would eventually start trickling down. The emergence of a middle class that is a combination of high levels of personal savings and low levels of personal debt act as evidence of new-found prosperity in this country (Dickson 2007, p.828). While this may be the case that is often reported, it is evident that the economic growth has created vast wealth even though this has amplified disparities between the poor people and the rich in the People’s Republic of China. The inequalities are an indication that there is a hidden vulnerability in the growth of China’s economy, which is neither exceptional nor new to the leadership of China (Wang 2013, p.49). The elite has ended up being so powerful in the service of its own interests that, for example, being a municipal official, one has the ability to decide whether to spend the taxpayer’s money on road infrastructure or on public utilities and amenities which provides for the majority of the population which often benefits the poor. Therefore, major concerns affecting today’s cities have a lot to do with politics and equality and not engineering alone as was previously the case (Wu 2010, p.754). One of the issues that have been brought about because of a lack of Confucian ideals in society has been that there has essentially developed a form of state sanctioned sex discrimination in society (Ma 2010, p.E557). Sexual discrimination in China affects the degree of differences in health needs, seeking health behaviours, treatment as well as infusing health research processes. The patterns of consumption in China is greatly affected by gender imbalance in terms of slow recognition of health problems affecting women, a seriously misdirected approach to the health needs of men and women, as well as a failure to recognize interactions between social factors and gender. The lack of data collection that is sex based in China as well as the fact that a majority of research methods used are not sensitive to disparity dimensions. This created a situation where there is imbalance in ethical committees formed where females are excluded, different treatment of women scientists, among many other forms of discrimination. Moreover, there have been continued instances of spousal abuse in China despite the laws which have been enacted to deal with the issue. It is a fact that a significant number of Chinese women are abuse by their spouses and this abuse normally occurs because of the ignorance that many of the women who undergo it concerning their rights (Tsui 2007, p.378). Most of the abuse, which occurs against women, takes place in the rural areas, where women tend to be only partially conversant with their rights. The empowerment of women in China is an ongoing process through which there is much both the government and the society can do to improve their lives and status. The adoption of Confucian principles in government would ensure that the rights of women go a long way in being protected against the corrupt tendencies in government that lead to their discrimination. While women in China have come a long way from the period where they were completely excluded from any meaningful roles within the society, they still have a long way to go before they are able to attain full equality with men (Parish et al. 2006, p.411). Among the most important ideologies of the Communist Party is that all the people in society are equal, irrespective of their age, status and gender although this ideology is normally not applied in all sectors of society with those in rural areas often not realising that such policies even exist. While one of the greatest achievements of the Chinese government was to ensure an end to forced and arranged marriages, it still has not done enough to make sure that women attain a form of equality in society. In addition, the empowerment of women through the acceptance of their new role in the society as well as favourable government policies, in accordance to Confucian principles, would create a situation where women in China have more independence as well as opportunities to do whatever they would like when compared to those in previous centuries. The Chinese elite have organised themselves in such a way that while they claim to be first among equals, the fact remains that they have power and privileges which are beyond other members of society. A class exists when a group that is against the will of the community lays claim to a surplus through force or any other means such as the legal structures (Solinger et al. 2013, p.742). When the citizens of some communities enforce their will over others, essentially making them surrender resources, they turn these individuals into slaves who have to work in order to gain wealth. Throughout modern history, it has become the norm for claims to be made by ruling classes in an effort to defend ascribed superiority of wealth that is inherited through relatives and proper breeding concept; the Chinese elite not being the exception. Family ties are often a traditional claim of status and are absent among the newly rich that normally challenge and redefine various social traditions and values. There has been the rise in the number of debates making the social presentation value shift from the social standing of family elites and family traditions that are long standing to a value that is symbolic to the upper-class type of lifestyle. The corruption that has become prevalent in China for more than three decades has largely been as a result of a lack of Confucian principles in government. The lack of serious reform to end elite corruption has brought about increased inequality in the distribution of wealth and this has been underestimated by the data used in research, with differences being observed in both urban and rural populations. Making income that is not agricultural unequal in rural areas increases the discrepancy in wealth distribution together with a slow growth of farming income. The declining roles of subsidies in urban areas as well as privileges have increased wage inequality that is related to labour market, enterprise reforms, among others. Moreover, through layoff practices, there has been a widening of income distribution with corruption also playing a role in wealth distribution; a situation that is much difficult to measure. China has come a long way over the last four decades from being a sleeping giant to becoming one of the most recognised countries in the world. The progress of this country into modernisation will most likely continue and it might even become the dominant global power within the twenty-first century. However, there is a risk that without the Confucian principles which are essentially a guideline for good governance. The corruption that has become prevalent among the elite of this country has brought about a situation where urgent reforms are needed in order to realise the full potential of China. In conclusion, the discussion has shown that in order to tackle the problem of corruption, it is essential that China implement the Confucian basis of the state to ensure that leaders serve the people first before themselves and their families. Confucian beliefs were highly prevalent in China before the establishment of the People’s Republic and its basic tenets were almost always taken for granted. It has been noted that the erosion of Confucian beliefs in the Chinese administration in later centuries had a lasting effect in the development of corruption in the country. Moreover, the disregard for Confucian tradition may have brought about a situation where corruption in China led to its not taking advantage of its unique position to serve the interests of its people. Over the past two decades, the People’s Republic of China has become one of the biggest economies in the world, and in doing so; millions of Chinese have ended up in a situation where they have not benefitted from their massive economy. There has developed a serious need for a return of Confucian concepts in government because it is the principles contained therein that will ensure that the Chinese government is not only able to serve its people better, but it also maintains social order. In addition, China’s economic growth that has been rapid over the last thirty years has been greeted with many unquestioned assumptions that it will eventually lead to a happy, wealthy and an equitable society. Furthermore, the discussion has shown that one of the issues that have been brought about as a result of a lack of Confucian ideals in society has been that there has essentially developed a form of state sanctioned gender discrimination in society. Finally, while the Chinese elite have organised themselves in such a way that while they claim to be first among equals, the fact remains that they have power and privileges which are beyond other members of society. 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