Introduction: Hegemony, Universality and the Dialectics of “Being Chinese” and the Family

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Abstract

The rapid industrialization that China has undergone since Deng Xiaoping has become a privileged theoretical object for the press and the intelligentsia alike, and it is now becoming evident that China’s ascent has far-reaching geopolitical, sociological, and ecological consequences. Yet, despite the diversity of accounts stemming from commentators as varied as journalists, activists, and political economists, the broad majority of them share a hidden unanimity concerning the invariability of the global free market. This is precisely why much of the critical polemic directed toward Chinese development is centered around the subject of “human rights” and the vainglorious attempt to salvage some semblance of human dignity in the face of an impersonal fate that subjects it to the caprices of crisis. The silent supposition here, of course, is that the excesses of capital are not endogenous to its very form and that its effects can be attenuated and aligned with the claims of classical humanism. We cannot accept that thought has been relegated to being a mere watchdog of the human spirit, the conscience of big money, and the loquacious spokesperson of the victimized—we do not merely want to throw the reins upon the unbridled beasts of finance. If, as we firmly believe, thought is indissociable from creation, it cannot, by its very essence, play a defensive rearguard function.

Keywords

Chinese Family Temporary Contract Introductory Chapter Chinese Identity Negative Identification 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Chan Institute of Social Studies (CISS)Hong KongChina

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