Popular perception of corruption in post-Mao China [electronic resource]

1995

1 online resource (372 p.)

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This dissertation studies the popular perception of corruption in post-Mao China. An interpretive framework of corruption is developed to understand why people in China hold paradoxical attitudes towards corruption. It is argued that different types of corruption have divergent implications for the interests and morality of the people. People have tolerance for diffuse and exchange corruption but abhor restricted and exploitative corruption. The study also compares the popular perception of corruption with the official interpretations in respect to its seriousness, nature, causes and solutions. Through studying discrepancies in understanding a problematic reality, the dissertation illustrates how hegemonic rule has failed in a socialist society like China. The major cause of this failure are factional conflicts in the party-state. The two factions in post-Mao China have been unable to reach a consensus on the relationship between corruption and market reforms. This created a space where the people can resist the state's ideological domination in regards to this issue. Finally, this study also attempts to shed light on the problems of demoralization and the legitimacy crisis in contemporary China. Field work was conducted in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, in 1992. 28 informants including workers, college students, young professionals and intellectuals were selected for in-depth interviews. Quantitative analysis of reports on corruption in a local Guangdong newspaper from 1981 to 1990 was conducted. Several official internal reports on how corruption is perceived were also used.

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July 12, 2011

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Yale University, 1995.

Yale University.