Chinese Popular Culture - Essay Example

Chinese Popular Culture Despite the economic reforms that were carried out in china in various sectors that led to rapid growth in economy, the gap between the poor and the rich has never been addressed. China has a wide gap between the haves and the have-nots due to unequal level of wealth distribution experienced across the nation. There are very few rich individuals and a large number of low-income earners as well as extremely poor individuals. It is also worth noting that various households across five provinces have pointed out at a worrying level of inequality (Tomba 2-5). The discrepancy in wealth distribution has largely affected people’s way of living in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as this form of writing analyses. The issue of social class has largely influenced the popular culture in terms of consumption patterns. According to Tomba residential developments were divided into classes where the high standard apartment belonged to the middle and the high class (3-7). The high-class community’s high purchasing power which enabled them get access to the various facilities and basic needs. China experiences melodramatic status improvement amongst the wage-earning professionals who have hugely influenced the social change. The China’s society comprises of the high consuming individuals who have influence the economy. Unfair distribution of wealth in china has been prompted by the different abilities by the social actors (Tomba 2-5). There are salaried middle class enjoying an improvement of living standard, purchasing power and whose enhancement in status is a new set of shared concern in the style of consumption and access to resources. In China, the notion that wealth is not for everyone was incorporated in the reform policies when Deng Xiaoping initiated the target of a well off family and the capability of getting rich first. The beneficiaries of the 1979 strategy included the people who could take away the public resources from the economic system and further reinvest the resources into some viable private or joint projects (Tomba 4-9). This group of high consuming social cluster has actually resulted in manipulations of resources controlling bureaucrats who continuously benefit from the China’s resources via economic means. Tomba explains that the middle and high class enjoy home ownership in various towns such as Hopetown and enjoy enough resources that they invest in education (3-7). Moreover, this group of people enjoy positions that require high level of responsibility including managerial and administrative positions that are largely found in the public offices. The middle and the high class enjoy accessibility to the real estate market and other meticulously defined consumer uniqueness. Salaried professionals have placed themselves in a way that they can create a consumer society because they can take advantage of policies meant to increase their consumption rate. This group can influence and protect their welfare privileges to have advantage over several things such as consumption and access to housing (“McKinsey & Company” Web). Improving the people’s living standard is integral as far as increasing the domestic demand is concerned. The salaried employees have experienced an increase in their salaries that has eventually had an increase in purchasing power effect. The middle class and the high class spend a lot in tourism, higher education, cars and other means of transport as well as both financial and other services sectors because of their high purchasing power compared to the underprivileged class comprising of peasants and unemployed group (Tomba 6-11). Leisure time is eminent amongst the rich thus boosting consumption in the tourism sector because of their high and lucrative disposable income. The level of income earned by an individual has a great effect on the level of education in that household and eventually determines the income and housing levels. Furthermore, home ownership has been made easier for the middle class through commercializing of housing and state intervention to subsidize home ownership. One’s economic level hugely determines where to stay although other factors such as cultural and social dimensions including ethnic competition may also decide where someone lives (“McKinsey & Company” Web). The socialist urban planners have designed cities free of segregation since different housing conditions may prompt social inequality and the economic control over population as well as the government controls distribution of housing has made this process successful. However, housing quality still depended on the resources available, which in turn influenced one’s status in the society. According to Tomba the urban organization identifies the link between status and housing consumption trends and residential segregation, which has hugely contributed to the social stratification and the rapid rise of high classes that has seen rapid growth of home ownership in various cities such as Beijing (8-15). Pattern of house ownership are related to the lifestyles and consumption capabilities of the professional middle class population and therefore cannot be attributed only to higher salaries and better bargaining power. The interest structure borrowed from the earlier socialist style of distribution have played a major role in deciding who gets rich first. The individuals who have maintained the high-class status are advantaged in many ways as far as consumption is concerned (Wang 539-541). The public employers have had a privilege to drive the engine of the real estate business by purchasing blocks of private apartment and reselling them. This is because there was a connection between the property rights and a long-term working relationship that could enable an individual to acquire houses. However, the high-income earners have decided to build prestigious residential houses that cannot be done by the middle class professionals as owning a home is regarded as a life changing experience. Low-income earners and some middle ranking professionals are burdened with the fact that their consumption is generally limited by Yuan they earn monthly. They cannot afford mortgage or any form of investment. On the other hand, the high spending community have led to an establishment of various businesses across China including 24-hour restaurants and elegant teahouses (Tomba 13-19). Most people really value buying cars making the growth in the number of vehicles outpacing parking facilities. Additionally purchase of electronic goods has been given first priority by the high class and middle class individuals. Consumption plays an integral role in shaping the status in China although some residents are not capable of leading an elegant lifestyle (Wang 539-541). Low-income earners are however struggling with how to acquire mortgages but are denied access to the property market. They are also not capable of enjoying privileges provided by the public sector as their middle class counterparts do. Most of the families in China consider home ownership as a determinant of their status hence making property protection rights a key issue. Individuals regard home ownership a challenging process affecting their decisions. Dissatisfaction concerning home ownership is a common issue amongst most Chinese residents. Nevertheless, borrowing money and utilizing an individual’s savings normally frightens and is considered a scary experience. Most communities in China are never linked with the workplace per se because they only use work as a channel of improving access to resources that can shape their status in the society (Wang 539-541). According to Tomba social development amongst the middle and high-income class has improved their consumption on travelling, IT products, housing, entertainment, education and medical insurance unlike the low-income earners who spend most of their finances on basic needs (15-22). Chinese’s high class and middle class individuals really enjoy travelling for tourism and this is very essential in boosting catering and tourism sectors, which have recently achieved very high growth. Each year, the hospitality, catering and tourism industry experiences incredible growth. However, most of the low income and less privileged individuals spend most of their money on basic needs and nothing less remains for leisure. Furthermore, IT products are gaining popularity annually through the higher consumption pattern of mobile phones, video and audio disks, software and digital home appliances that are owned by both the ordinary and high-class individuals. There is no distinctive pattern in consumption concerning the IT products, as some are affordable for the ordinary citizens. In addition, education sector is currently booming with the rich and the middle class individuals paying more attention to for themselves and their children to meet employment issues currently experienced. High income and middle class earners have hugely influenced China’s domestic demand. Household consumption can be explained through the household income making Chinese household consumption behaviour similar to all other countries consumption patterns. The strength of the link between disposable income and the consumption pattern is evident across the country thus suggesting that consumption is chiefly driven by the level of social status and disposable income. However, it is worth noting that the household income in China is derived from labour particularly the structural aspects which are capable of changing household consumption (Wang 539-541). Cultural taste and preference is primarily reliant on the social status in the society although groups with almost similar economic position tend to have dissimilar experiences in some aspects of social life. Inequality and gender differences at work places and choice for occupation greatly affect the consumption patterns. Males with high purchasing power tend to purchase more than their female counterparts who do not have better jobs. It is apparent that the wealth distribution pattern in China is very wide despite its positive economic performance. This is very unfair considering that all people are equal and entitled to benefit from the country’s wealth. The underprivileged and ordinary citizens may regard themselves lesser citizens than the rich and the middle class because of unfair distribution of wealth. Although it may not be easy to make everyone access to wealth, the government should institute policies that can reduce the wide gap. Works Cited “Mckinsey & Company.” Chinese Consumer Spending Patterns Rapidly Approaching those of Developed Nations, 24 Sep. 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. . Tomba, Luigi. Creating an Urban Middle Class: Social Engineering in Beijing. The China Journal 51 (2004): 1-26. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. . Wang, Jing. Bourgeois Bohemians in China? Neo-Tribes and the Urban Imaginary. The China Quarterly 183 (2005): 532-548. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. . Read More