China's Precariat: A Class Defined by Insecurity & Struggles

1. China’s precariat中國的「殆危階級」 Ching Kwan Lee 李靜君教授

4. defining “Precarity” & “precariats”「零散化」與「殆危階級」的定義 • Guy Standing: a thing-like phenomenon defined by forms of insecurity (e.g. lack of contract, lack of social security, lack of collective representation, barriers to skill acquisition) • 蓋伊．史坦丁︰由不安感定義的類似事物（例如缺乏合同、缺乏社會保障、缺乏集體代表、技能獲取障礙） • “Precariat”: a new global class at the bottom of a 7 class-system, distinctly different from full time and unionized workers • 「殆危階級」：一個新的全球階級，位於7個階級的最底層，與全職和已被工會組織的工人截然不同 • Causes: global capital competition assisted by government drives for labor flexibility • 原因：因政府推動的全球資本競爭所帶來的勞動彈性 • Debate: is it a separate class? Is it homogeneous? Are there variations in regimes and routes to precarity? Is precarity economic or political as well? • 辯論：它是一個獨立的階級嗎？ 它是同質的嗎？ 不同政權走向「就業零散化」的道路是否存在差異？「就業零散化」是經濟或政治因素主導？

5. Precarity as relations, not a reified group「零散化」是一種關係，而不是一個具體化的群體 • Labor is always precarious under capitalism and state socialism, but in different ways • 不論在資本主義和國家社會主義制度下，「就業零散化」一直以不同形式存在 • Experienced as relative and relational • 經驗是相對性和關係性的 • Context and culture-dependent; not fixed by a list of universal indicators • 因背景和文化而異；沒有普世標準 • historical and dynamic • 歷史和動態的 • precarity as a lens means: focus on the most salient terrains, terms and relations of struggles waged by the working class in any particular historical, socio-political period • 「零散化」作為一個鏡頭意味著：聚焦於工人階級在不同歷史和社會背景，對突出的勞動領域、條件和關係所發起的鬥爭

6. “Precarity” as relational struggles「零散化」作為關係性鬥爭 • relational struggles: class as relationship on three interlinked contested terrains • 關係性鬥爭：階級作為三個相互關連但同時有爭議領域的關係 • regulation (exploitation, production) • 監管（剝削，生產） • recognition (symbolic and classification struggles of moral standing and status) • 認可（道德地位和身份，在象徵和分類上的鬥爭） • reproduction (social reproduction of workers, daily and generational) • 複製（工人、日常和世代的社會複製）

7. 70 years of Precarity Struggles70年的「零散化」鬥爭

8. 1. State Socialism (1949-1979)國家社會主義（1949-1979） • ideology vs. reality of “iron rice bowl”: given to only 1/5 of Chinese labor, in SOEs (but not collective enterprises or rural communes) • 意識形態與“鐵飯碗”的現實：只有佔中國勞動力五份一的國有企業（不包括集體企業或農村公社）職工享有 • 16% of industrial work force were temporary or contract, many were migrant workers from the countryside, receiving salaries without benefit • 16％的工業勞動力是臨時工或合約工，許多是來自農村的移工，他們領取工資但沒有任何福利 • Apprentices (substandard wages and benefits) • 學徒（次等工資和福利） • Social youth (young and unemployed) • 社會青年（年輕人和失業者）

9. Drivers of socialist precarity社會主義「就業零散化」的驅動因素 • Socialist regime of accumulation required transfer of surplus from country to city, agriculture to industry, peasant to workers • 社會主義的積累制度要求將生產剩餘從農村轉移到城市、從農業轉移到工業、從農民轉移到工人 • Guild tradition of exclusivity and paternalism among Communist labor leaders • 共產黨的工人領袖，仍然被行業公會傳統的排他性和家長作風所主導 • Financial constraints • 財務限制 • Input shortages and fluctuation • 輸入短缺和波動 • Use of unequal reward as incentives • 以不平等的獎賞作獎勵 • Divide and rule • 分化和管治

10. Politics政治 • State policies were main drivers of protection and precariousness • 國家政策是保護主義和「就業零散化」的主要驅動因素 • Marginal and disadvantaged workers led labor unrest during state-sponsored political campaigns (e.g. 1957 Hundred Flowers, Cultural Revolution) • 邊緣和弱勢工人在國家發動的政治運動中（例如1957年的百花齊放，文革）發起了勞工抗爭 • Work unit based to cross factory mobilization • 工作單位為主以至跨廠動員 • Communist state’s ideological domination provided symbolic resources for politics of recognition and demands for status recognition and material improvements • 共產主義國家的意識形態統治為身份認可和物質改善，提供了象徵性的政治認可和需求

11. Relational Struggles

12. 2. High-growth Reform (1980-2010)高經濟增長下的改革開放（1980-2010） 2.1 market drivers of informality 市場因素帶動的非正規化 • China’s integration in global capitalism: timing and niche as the lowest nodes of global commodity chain • 中國融入全球資本主義：時機和商機促使成為全球商品生產鏈的最低端 • A hierarchy of subcontractors: ghost workers, student interns, and “on-call” rush order workshops • 分判商的分層結構：幽靈工作者、學生實習生和“隨時候命”的緊急訂單生產工場 • State’s fixed asset investment(45% of GDP) as growth strategy  construction boom & informal labor • 國家固定資產投資（佔GDP的45％）作為增長戰略建築增長和非正規勞動力 • Informal service economy in global cities • 全球城市的非正規服務經濟

13. 2. high growth reform (1980-2010)高經濟增長下的改革開放（1980-2010） 2.2 state’s strategy of domination 國家的統治策略 • repressive representation • 鎮壓代表 • official union as agent of the state • 官方工會作為國家的代理人 • toleration and harassment of grassroots labor NGOs • 對基層勞工NGO的容忍和騷擾 • ideology of trickle down developmentalism • 滴漏效應發展主義的意識形態 • legal regulation and bureaucratic absorption of labor conflict • 對勞資糾紛的法律監管和官僚吸納

14. 2.3 Regulation struggle監管鬥爭 • Labor struggles mostly about legal regulation – workplaces and workers that are recognized and regulated by the Labor Law: cellular, legalistic, localized, socio-economic demands • 勞動抗爭主要圍繞法律監管 - 勞動法所承認和監管的工作場所和工人：細胞、法律、本地化、社會經濟需求 • Beyond legal regulation: protest bargaining to maintain social stability & harmony; high growth economy – class compromise • 超越法律監管：抗爭談判以維持社會穩定與和諧；高增長經濟 - 階級妥協 • Violence: many informal workers (construction and street vendors) engage in disruptive and violent confrontation with employers or local police • 暴力：不少非正規工人（建築工人和街頭小販）與僱主或警察發生暴力對抗

15. Relational Struggles

16. 3. Slow growth Authoritarianism (2010 -- )低增長下的威權主義 • Economic New Normal: • 經濟新常態 • slow growth (6.5%) & overcapacity (e.g. steel, coal, glass)  unemployment • 低增長（6.5％）和產能過剩（例如鋼鐵，煤炭，玻璃）失業 • debt-fueled growth since 2008  land grab as major source of govt revenue and collaterals • 自2008年以來，以債務帶動的增長搶奪土地成為政府收入和抵押的主要來源 • State-led urbanization  land dispossession and unemployment • 國家主導的城市化土地剝奪和失業 • Encroachment on urban commons  urban dispossession • 對公共空間的侵佔城市剝奪 • Private debts: credit fueled mass entrepreneurship, especially college graduates • 私人債務：信貸推動大眾創業，尤其是大學畢業生 • Microworkers and dispatched workers in the gig economy (service) • 零工經濟下的微工和外派工

21. Xi Jinping習近平 • Political New Normal: • 政治新常態 • Zero tolerance for dissent, crackdown on rights activism and NGOs • 對異議人士採取零容忍態度，打擊維權人士和非政府組織 • Tightened control over media and higher education • 對傳媒和高等教育加強控制 • Social control through credit rating • 以社會信用制度加強社會控制

22. Social Reproduction struggles社會複製抗爭 • Strikes & legal mobilization: demanding social insurance • 罷工和法律動員：要求社會保障 • Blurred boundaries between labor and capital, no recognition or regulation by labor law • 工人與資本之間界限模糊，勞動法無法認可或監管 • 2015: city-wide strikes by self-employed taxi drivers due to “livelihood crisis” • 2015年：由於“生計危機”，自僱的士司機在發動全市罷工 • Street vendors’ violent confrontations with urban para-police force over right to public spaces • 街頭攤販與城管就做用公共空間的權利進行暴力衝突 • Land struggles are social reproduction struggles • 土地抗爭是社會複製的抗爭 • Less institutionalized, more volatile; target the state • 制度化程度較低，波動較大；以國家目標

23. March 11, 2016, coal mining town in Heilongjiang2016年3月11日，黑龍江省煤礦鎮

27. Into the void進入空白 • social unrest compels the state to reconstruct social contract and safety net • 社會不穩迫使國家重建社會契約和安全網 • debt state and debt society: deploying future resources for present social peace: sustainable? • 債務國家和債務社會：未來資源換取當前社會穩定：可持續？ • performance legitimation shaken by slow-growth authoritarianism • 低增長的威權主義動搖了政權的合法性 • “authoritarian precarization”  • 威權零散化 • “precarization of authoritarianism”? • 還是零散威權主義？ • micro-workers: solitary or solidarity • 微工：孤獨還是團結 • Citizens, capital, party-state managers • 公民，資本，黨國經理

28. Beyond Exploitation超越剝削 • Formal and informal workers: exploitation • 正規和非正規工人：剝削 • Unemployed workers: exclusion • 失業工人：排斥 • Landless workers: dispossession • 無地工人：剝奪權利 • micro-entrepreneurs & day laborers: debt trap • 微型企業家和日工：債務陷阱 • Informal NGOs: disempowerment • 非正式的非政府組織：去權

29. Relational Struggles