Social Change and Conflict in Modern China - Coursework Example

Social Change and Conflict in Modern China Introduction Economic development is always welcomed by the people as well as the government of a nation or region. The economic development of a nation indicates prosperity for the people, and money for further developmental programs along with more jobs, and business opportunities. Infrastructure will grow and the people of the land will be able to avail of more than just basic amenities. But rapid and unplanned growth has grave consequences or side effects as well. The demand for energy to fuel the developmental process will lead to import of energy resources. The gap between the have-nots and haves is bound to increase. Worse still, the impact of the environment due to effluents from automobiles and factories will be severe. This paper is a review of the development that is fuelling the Chinese economy for the past decade, one which is expected to continue into the future as well. But as mentioned above, the country is facing all the challenges and problems associated with rapid economic growth. In the process of the review, the following factors or issues will also be considered. The first question is, whether it is prudent on the part of the Chinese Government to ignore associated problems like pollution in the short run, while it aggressively pursues its development policies. The Chinese government follows an authoritarian style with very little political/personal freedom of expression in the hands of its citizens. A review of this scenario will also be done here since this freedom is seen as essential for a well-balanced economic growth. The third issue is the rising levels of income inequality that is seen in the country. Finally, the role and importance of the Chinese legal system will also be reviewed with focus on its ability to root out or at least control corruption and injustice faced by its citizens. Environmental issues There exists abundant literature on the environmental problems faced by the country. What becomes apparent is that environmental pollution comes from two areas, namely automobile emissions and affluent from its manufacturing units. An article in the online edition of New York Times titled ‘China’s environmental crisis’ dated August 26th 2007, provides a Flash supported map of the country showing different areas of environmental vulnerability and damage. One glaring fact is that the majority of the damage is seen in Eastern part of the land and to a small extent along the northern border. The central and eastern parts are relatively left untouched by pollution and probable development as well. With regard to quality of air, the article states that “the air in many Chinese cities is the most polluted in the world” (China’s Environmental Crisis 2007). For example, Beijing, one of the world’s polluted cities in terms of quality of air, the particles found is three times that is seen in Los Angeles. Water scarcity affects nearly 600 million people, nearly half of its population. The encroachment of desert and arid land is increasing and acid rain is common in many parts of the land especially in highly polluted areas. This is compounded by the fact that population density is increasing where developmental activities are taking place probably due to large scale migration from other areas. It is to the credit of the Government that some steps to arrest this threat has been taken starting in the year 2003. But it appears that it is aimed at only one of the two areas of threat, namely controlling automobile emission in cities and towns. The rapid development of the country has naturally resulted in an explosive growth in the use of automobiles in the form of private cars and those used for public transport of people and commodities. As Bradsher reports, “the Chinese government is preparing to impose minimum fuel economy standards on new cars for the first time, and the rules will be significantly more stringent than those in the United States, according to Chinese experts involved in drafting them” (Bradsher 2003). Once this is implemented fully, a relatively small improvement will be impacted in China’s choked city streets. This is because emission controls have not been extended to cover larger transport vehicles. The growth in automobile usage has also resulted in traffic jams in most cities, which is a major cause of waste of energy and fuel. The end result is deteriorating health of people exposed to this pollution: “Long-term exposure to air pollution can raise the risk of pulmonary and heart disease, irritate underlying respiratory conditions and potentially take months or more off a healthy life-span” (Walsh 2004). The country will soon be exposed to a major health epidemic that will add to the problems already existing. It could result in a situation whereby a major part of the next generation being born and growing up as unhealthy. But the government fails miserably in its effort to control damage from effluents from its factories mostly situated in arable land outside the cities. It has reached to such an extent that people in villages have started rioting (effectively in many instances) rather than wait endlessly for a solution. For example, Yardley reports how the local and nearby residents of a village protested violently against the damage to agriculture and water caused by effluents from the Zhuxi Industrial Function Zone, situated near the town of Zhejiang (Yardley 2005). This is just one of the few instances of protests by local population with regard to pollution. The short term and inadequate measures taken with regard to auto emission is rendered useless by ignoring other polluting factors. It is not prudent to ignore the issue in the short run in the name of long term economic growth. If this trend continues, feeding the huge population will become an issue due to depletion of arable land. Tackling of health related issues will also get out of hand. Unless the government seriously attempts to control pollution issues, a major crisis can develop especially with regard to health and food production apart from the deteriorating economic conditions of its farmers. Factories are inevitable in a developing economy, but the country is vast and has large areas where the population density is low and the land is poor for agriculture. A personal view of this writer is that the government should shift the high polluting factories to such places. It would entail additional costs of infrastructure and transportation, but the costs would be negligible when compared to the costs of fighting the consequences of pollution. Political and personal freedom in times of technological and economic progress No individual of any society would like to be repressed and there are countless instances of people fighting to obtain freedom through violent and peaceful means. The American War of Independence which resulted in the formation of the United States was gained through armed struggle. Indian independence and equal rights for blacks in USA are instances of obtaining freedom through non-violent methods. Even if a country is ruled by its own people, personal and political freedom can be curtailed depending on the policies of the government that rules it. Many communist governments like those found in the erstwhile Soviet Union, East Germany, and even China have proven records of curtailment of personal and political freedom. History has shown that certain forms of governance (communism) can only succeed through such methods, but with other serious drawbacks. East Germany was way behind its neighbor, West Germany in terms of economic well being of its population. The same is the case with China and Russia in the past. With no private enterprise, the ways to earn wealth does not exist unless it is obtained by unlawful means. It is also common knowledge that employees cannot be considered to be really wealthy or free even if they earn large salaries. Entrepreneurship is an essential element of wealth creation and it can happen only in a society that promotes free enterprise: “entrepreneurship is a key determinant of investment, saving, wealth holdings, and wealth inequality” (Cagetti & Nardi 2004). The above statement should not be taken at its face value since many economies have prospered due to high levels of entrepreneurship, but coupled with unequal income distribution. But it does serve to a large extent in bringing prosperity within an economy. Capitalistic societies do promote free enterprise. According to Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate in economics, the basic premise of wealth creation is the need to be free and not the accumulation of money. It “is not because income and wealth are desirable for their own sake, but because, typically, they are admirable general-purpose means for having more freedom to lead the kind of lives we have reason to value” (Sen 2001:14). China too began allowing privately owned businesses primarily to tap the benefits of globalization and to a larger extent to close down inefficiently run state owned enterprises. However, by 1987 “a change of policy and repeal of the law saw a surge towards the private sector” (Liao & Sohmen 2001). In spite of this liberalization, the country has now been witnessing increased protests against the authoritarian attitude of the government in sectors like agriculture. The most famous of these protests was the one known as the Tiananmen Square massacre. Even though the government successfully quelled the movement, it soon understood that curtailment of freedom was not a long term solution. Protests and riots by farmers over precedence to industrialization over agriculture are now becoming common in the country today. One such instance has already been mentioned earlier. French reports that “the riots in Xinchang are a part of a rising tide of discontent in China, with the number of mass protests like these skyrocketing to 74,000 incidents last year from about 10,000 a decade earlier, according to government figures” (FRENCH, 2005). There is a limit to which a population of a nation will tolerate submission, and there is a limit to which a government can continue to rule in an authoritarian manner. Something will give way because people value freedom. Economic inequality in China It is pertinent to note that “China, which two decades back was one of the most equal countries in the world, is now among the most unequal countries. Its Gini coefficient – a standard measure of inequality, with zero indicating no inequality and one extreme inequality – for income inequality has now surpassed that of the US” (Bardhan 2007). This indicates that economic inequality is one of the drawbacks of capitalism and free economy. The reference to the United States is pertinent because the nation has been hailed as the land of opportunity, capitalism, and free enterprise. In other words, individual freedom especially in the area of free enterprise will create inequalities in income. This is quite natural because of the rule of taking risks. Employees are not risk takers while entrepreneurs are. Those who take more calculated risks have to be rewarded or compensated more. Unless this happens, no one will be induced to take risks. In a socialistic economy, all the risks are borne by the government, while in a free economy; risks are borne by entrepreneurs as well. It is only natural that people who are equipped to take risks be rewarded for their efforts. A personal opinion is that those who reap this reward should be willing to share it with those less fortunate. A small portion of their income can be redistributed among the less fortunate sections of the society. An ideal way to do this is through prudent taxation policies that provide transference of income without discouraging the entrepreneurial community. But there is good news with regard to growth in entrepreneurship even at the cost of income inequality. The overall poverty ratio has come down due to increased creation of jobs in industries. The global experience seen in rapid industrialization is the move from engagement in agriculture to employment in industries. People feel that getting employment is more secure than being engaged in traditional agricultural practices especially when using outdated methods and equipment. The effort and the risk are not worth it when compared with the perceived benefits of employment (private of government) and there is a mass exodus towards cities in the hope of finding gainful employment. As mentioned earlier, development (and pollution) is concentrated in Western parts of the country. Central China has been relatively untouched by either development or pollution. It would appear from the experience of other capitalist economies, (USA and Europe) and developing economies (India, China) that inequality in income is inevitable. Future trends might probably show a change in income distribution. At present an economy will have to be satisfied with increased job opportunities, and inequality in distribution of wealth. Chinese legal system and corruption According to Transparency International, China ranks seventy second among a total of one hundred and eighty countries (Corruption Perceptions Index 2008). Even though this may not be a final judgment, an idea about the levels of honesty in the country in general and the legal system in particular can be got from the figures. What should be noted is that China is an ancient nation which had its own system of justice a long time before Western notions about legal systems came into being. The present legal system in the country is as follows. The supreme authority is the National People’s Congress. The structure then gives equal precedence to the following bodies namely, the President of China, the State Council, the Central Ministry Commission, the Supreme Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (Guimei & Qiang 2007). There is open discontent among the populace especially those from the farming community (marginalized in favor of industrialization and modernization) if reports from the press are to be believed. According to some views, violent protests are one practical way to get across a viewpoint. "This is the only way to solve problems like ours," said a 22-year-old villager whose house sits less than 100 yards from the smashed gates of the factory, where the police were massed. "If you go to see the mayor or some city official, they just take your money and do nothing" (FRENCH, 2005). Goldman Sachs, the world renowned banking and securities firm had identified the BRIC economies as the future economic powerhouses of the world. The acronym stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China. As per Transparency International rankings, China ranks a modest first among these countries. Brazil comes in second at 80 (China is 72), India ranks eighty five, and Russia ranks at one hundred and forty seven. A personal opinion is that China has other priorities like energy conservation and pollution that needs to be checked before it takes a full fledged plunge into anti-corruption activities. It is not that fighting corruption is not important, but other matters are more important at present. Conclusion Every nation governed by democratically elected governments, and those governed by forward looking visionaries want overall economic development of the economy and the people. Some economies like China, India, and Brazil is now seen witnessing a rapid growth in its economy. While this has brought about a positive change in many sections of the population, it has also shown negative consequences like increased environmental pollution, exposure of corruption, and increased inequalities of income distribution. This paper reviewed the part played by China with respect to the above factors. The conclusions that can be had from what has been reviewed are given below. There is no doubt that China is witnessing a massive growth with regard to its economy. But this growth has brought about serious environmental and energy problems. The government should look at a long term perspective which should consider its agricultural sector also. Freedom is becoming more apparent in the country especially by the government allowing and promoting private enterprise. The neglected farming community is actively becoming more violent in making its voices heard, something unheard of a couple of decades back. Inequality of income is still a drawback of a capitalist economy and there is no foolproof system as of now for a solution. Corruption in developing economies that once depended on high levels of governmental control is also an issue that has to be tackled. To conclude, China is on its way to growth despite many of the problems as mentioned above and there is no easy solution for the same. Pragmatic, transparent, and honest policies and approaches can slowly change and bring about a positive change with regard to the issues. It will take time and patience, but is possible, something that can be an example to other developing economies. References Bardhan, Pranab. 2007. Inequality in India and China: Is Globalization to Blame? YaleGlobal, Oct 15. http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=9819 (accessed May 9, 2009). Bradsher, Keith. 2003. China Set to Act on Fuel Economy. The New York Times, Nov 18. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/18/business/worldbusiness/18AUTO.html (accessed May 9, 2009). Cagetti, Marco and Nardi, Mariacristina De. July 2004. Taxation, Entrepreneurship, and Wealth. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department Staff Report 340. http://minneapolisfed.org/research/sr/sr340.pdf (accessed May 9, 2009). China’s Environmental Crisis. 2007. 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