Jie Chen, A Middle Class Without Democracy: Economic Growth and the Prospects for Democratization in China

Excerpt

Based on a unique representative sample survey of three major Chinese cities (Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi’an), Jie Chen sheds new light on the old question regarding the role of the middle class in democratization. He distinguishes between two approaches: the first, the “unilateral” approach derived from modernization theory, claims that economic growth will lead to a rising middle class which, in turn, will sooner rather than later demand political rights to protect their socioeconomic interests from state infringements. The second, termed the “contingent” approach, disputes the inevitability of this scenario. In this line of reasoning there is a different logic at work in late or late-late developing countries. The state’s role in economic development is much more pronounced, so that the emerging middle class will be more dependent upon the authoritarian system which gave rise to it and less likely to challenge incumbent rulers. Against this backdrop, Chen’s study provides evidence for the contingency thesis. …