TY - JOUR
T1 - Labor-related civil society actors in China
T2 - a Gramscian analysis
AU - Hui, Elaine Sio ieng
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (RG003-A-17) and the Career Development Award, the Center for Global Studies, Penn State University. An earlier version of this paper was presented in the XVIII International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology, the Global Transformation of Work: Market Integration, China’s Rise, and Labor Adaptation Conference organized by the Rutgers University, and the Working Paper Series organized by the School of Labor and Employment Relations in Penn State University. The author would like to thank the participants of these meetings and Prof. Andreas Bieler for their valuable comment on the draft of the article.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (RG003-A-17) and the Career Development Award, the Center for Global Studies, Penn State University. An earlier version of this paper was presented in the XVIII International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology, the Global Transformation of Work: Market Integration, China?s Rise, and Labor Adaptation Conference organized by the Rutgers University, and the Working Paper Series organized by the School of Labor and Employment Relations in Penn State University. The author would like to thank the participants of these meetings and Prof. Andreas Bieler for their valuable comment on the draft of the article.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (RG003-A-17) and the Career Development Award, the Center for Global Studies, Penn State University.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - Focusing on labor non-governmental organizations and labor lawyers, this article examines the class roles of China’s labor-related civil society actors (CSAs) in migrant worker resistance. This article calls into question the intuitive sentiment in scholarship that by engaging in collective labor actions, China’s CSAs are axiomatically advancing worker interests. It builds on criticism of the mainstream approach towards civil society and on Gramsci’s insights on civil society and organic intellectuals to construct a typological spectrum to evaluate labor-related CSAs. Based on in-depth interviews, participant observations, and documentary research, this article contends that China’s labor-related CSAs can be classified as unqualified organic, semi-organic, or organic intellectuals of workers, hinging on their commitment and ability to 1) challenge the kind of common sense associated with capitalist economic relations; 2) challenge the kind of juridico-political common sense the state reproduces; 3) construct a kind of good sense and enhance workers’ class consciousness and political consciousness; and 4) build up workers’ collectivity, spur workers to take concerted actions and engage in system-transforming initiatives.
AB - Focusing on labor non-governmental organizations and labor lawyers, this article examines the class roles of China’s labor-related civil society actors (CSAs) in migrant worker resistance. This article calls into question the intuitive sentiment in scholarship that by engaging in collective labor actions, China’s CSAs are axiomatically advancing worker interests. It builds on criticism of the mainstream approach towards civil society and on Gramsci’s insights on civil society and organic intellectuals to construct a typological spectrum to evaluate labor-related CSAs. Based on in-depth interviews, participant observations, and documentary research, this article contends that China’s labor-related CSAs can be classified as unqualified organic, semi-organic, or organic intellectuals of workers, hinging on their commitment and ability to 1) challenge the kind of common sense associated with capitalist economic relations; 2) challenge the kind of juridico-political common sense the state reproduces; 3) construct a kind of good sense and enhance workers’ class consciousness and political consciousness; and 4) build up workers’ collectivity, spur workers to take concerted actions and engage in system-transforming initiatives.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077625390&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85077625390&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11186-019-09372-2
DO - 10.1007/s11186-019-09372-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077625390
SN - 0304-2421
VL - 49
SP - 49
EP - 74
JO - Theory and Society
JF - Theory and Society
IS - 1
ER -