Capitalism In China Book Report

Communism in China as we know has played a major role in the countries political system over the past century. Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao were the co-founders of the communist party in 1921. At the time China was in a world or turmoil ever since the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. For 10 years China was lost in a world with new ideas coming from all over the world. At the time, Duxiu and Dazhao saw an opportunity to bring change throughout a weakened China and they exploited it. The communist influence being brought by them and powers such as Russia influenced the Chinese way of thinking that Communism had new beliefs of the world and that all people should be seen as equal under the new government. Personally I am a very strong believer in

Industrialization in China began in 1949 when the Communist party took power. Ever since, the rapid economic growth of China has overshadowed the violations of human rights. China is a very powerful country that has a direct relationship between its economic growth and human rights abuse. Although others may argue on the positive aspects of industrialization such as creation of wealth, in this paper I argue that the industrialization in China has done more harm than good because it has particularly led to extremely harsh labor conditions within the factory system.

Even with her previous experiences at Beijing University and at Big Joy Farm, Wong still held some belief that the Chinese system wasn’t as bad as it was sometimes made out to be. This event proved to her that it was. “The enormity of the massacre hit home…Although it had been years since I was a Maoist, I still had harbored some small hope for China. Now even that was gone” (259). As a reporter Wong was able to view the progression of the protests in leading up to the massacre, and in viewing it understood that the Chinese people were much more independent than they had previously demonstrated over the past 50 years. She had continuously seen the Chinese people following what they were told between learning in school or with physical labor, yet this protest was one of the first large scale displays of the unacceptance of the regime by the people, and the government did not know what to do with it. But because of this, Wong was able to recognize that the people were not reliant on this way of life that they had previously been bound to, but truly could lead for themselves and take control. The massacre awakened Wong both to the reality that the government was not acting to benefit the people, and that the people were more than capable of acting for

On the other hand, her International Management class had exposed her to the harsh reality of working conditions in China: low wages, rigorous work schedule, poor safety regulations, and

The political alarm in my mind went off. It is always hard to imagine inhumanity such as this happening today, as my frame of experience draws upon working at Best Buy Geek Squad and the only mistreatment I have ever dealt with is a vertically-challenged manager who nicknamed me “Brokeback” because I wore cowboy boots. The compilation of stories from China presented by Rivoli especially hit home for me because during my time trying to start a clothing company, my team never discussed any “sweatshop” issues. I view myself as an ethical entrepreneur and it was hard to stomach the fact that during my time starting Austerity Clothing last year, we talked to death about “green” products, but not once had the thought even crossed my mind that our products could have possibly been manufactured in Chinese “sweatshops”. After I took the red pill of responsibility, I found it fascinating the policies I had never heard of in communist China, such as the hukou. In the book, Rivoli translates that the "hukou is a place of household registration." (87) The way it is described seemed similar to the Indian caste system of classifying its citizens. The idea that people can be classified as simply “farm people” or “city people” and that title defines who they are as a person is so

As long as a labor force has been in America, changes have been made to determine the most productive sense of business without affecting its negligence of working conditions. Records of dangerous or fatal activities, along with a substantial amount of shameful business conditions, have been noted before during the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era. It has sadly emerged into a darker form of punishment that has scourged the workforce within most extreme productions of goods. Although there can be many bad things said about working conditions within minimum wage jobs, some families are reduced to working illegal jobs for poor wages under the administration of corrupt supervisors, and the products they collect are sold by massive corporations. Rose Schneiderman, once an employee at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was quoted saying “… the life of men and women is so cheap and property is so sacred! There are so many of us for one job, it matters little if 140-odd are burned to death.” Her account has stayed true for over a century since the words left her lips.

As the Industrial Revolution begins, the idea of capitalism began to come up. It is economic and political system in which private owners control the country’s trade and industry for personal profit. The government intervenes the least as possible so that the best companies survive

In recent years, China has become a worldwide superpower-seemingly out of nowhere. War-torn and sick of being trampled on by western powers, the Communist Party of China has given the almost 4,000 year old country a new lease on life. But all this newfound power and “prosperity” came at a price paid in sweat and blood. In the memoir Red Scarf Girl, Jiang Ji-Li recalls her experiences growing up during Chairman Mao’s “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”, during a time where hundreds of thousands were unfairly persecuted and even tortured by their brainwashed friends and family. Although it is clear that my experiences and Jiang Ji-Li’s are very different, there are also some similarities.

In her paper, “The ‘revenge of history’: China’s collective memories and labor protests in north eastern China,” Ching Kwan Lee describes how China’s market reform has led to mass unemployment and poverty among state workers in the rustbelt of China. This declining standard of living has resulted a nostalgia for Maoist socialism, in what she calls “the revenge of history,” or the idea that those who have benefited the most from socialistic policies lost the most after the market reforms. The plight of these workers is dramatized in the movie “Blind Shaft,” where Li Yang tells the story of two con artists who trick migrant workers into joining them in the coal mines, only to kill them in the mines and reap profits in the form of “hush money” from the corrupt owners of the mines. Lee’s idea of the “revenge of history” is useful for interpreting this movie, because it provides context for the events depicted, allowing the audience to gain a better understanding of the motivations of the con artists. At first glance, the con artists are just greedy men, looking to make a quick profit. Looking from the Lee’s perspective, however, shows that these men are forced into this situation because of the poverty pushed onto them by capitalistic market reforms. Lee’s metaphor of “the revenge of history” allows the audience to gain a more complex and nuanced view of the characters Song Jinming and

In Ha-Joon Chang’s 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism, he tries to break it down to the readers some of the unexplored issues in regards to capitalism. He cleverly engages the reader into thinking critically about capitalism from a broader perspective. His perceptions are not only eye-opening, they are also relevant, especially with the current dynamic economy in the wake of the 2008-2009 economic crunch. He exposes the problem with the masses and why the economies still remain unstable. Acceding to Chang (2010), we do not see economic crisis coming because we are unaware about certain aspects about capitalism and we do not make an effort to enquire. It is important to note that he is not against capitalism as the title of the book might

In regards to those people working in factory or industrial jobs, they are often subject to inadequate working conditions as well as mistreatment from the owners of these factories. This mistreatment can be seen all over the countries that French visits. From protesting in a Chambishi plant due to salary and workplace issues, to the most heinous of workers’ rights violations that occur in the factories of Zambia. One such issue was an explosion that was unintentionally set off near a mine killing nearly fifty workers. What made the event even more traumatic was the report that several of the mine’s Chinese managers were seen fleeing the scene before the explosion occurred, indicating the lack of value the Chinese placed on the lives of the Zambian

Another vital thing the two countries still do not agree on is human rights. Many Americans do not agree with the Communist government and the government having the power to control how many babies people can reproduce or the lack of freedom of speech in China, just like the Chinese does not agree with many of our customs and government structure. China exercise power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public. The ideologies of communism have an enormous amount of influence in China. Both the government and its people hold firm traditional values such as, peace, order and stability in both the family and nation, which is the blueprint in Chinese politics, which create loyalty towards those in power. China’s authoritarian

By definition, Capitalism is an economic system controlled chiefly by individuals and private companies instead of by the government. In this system, individuals and companies own and direct most of the resources used to produce goods and services, including land and other natural resources labor, and “capital”. “Capital” includes factories and equipment and sometimes the money used in businesses (Friedman, 5).

“Inside the factory, amid clattering machinery and clouds of sawdust, men without earplugs or protective goggles feed wood into screaming electric saws, making cabinets for stereo speakers” (Goodman and Pan 1). In the article Chinese Workers Pay for Wal-Mart’s Low Prices by Peter Goodman and Philip Pan the mistreatment of the migrant workers in China is evident. These kinds of behaviors are taking place all over in China. The abuse of the Chinese work force has reached terrible proportions and created unlawful conditions because of the demanding economy of China, and other countries’ needs of the goods; however, the companies that are centered in China are working to make sure their workers are treated fairly.

In the film “China Blue”, a seventeen year old girl, Jasmine Li, works in a Chinese jeans factory. From this documentary we learn about the pay Jasmine was receiving for her hard work, half a Yuan an hour which is equal to about six US cents. We also learn about the condition of the factory and dorms, the rules that the workers have to abide to, and how important these factories are. From just these sweat shops we learn about the economic, social, and political problems that has arisen in China. It also shows us inequality and inequity of the society in China.