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Poverty, Shame and Ethics in Contemporary China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2019

LICHAO YANG Open the ORCID record for LICHAO YANG [Opens in a new window]  and
ROBERT WALKER Open the ORCID record for ROBERT WALKER [Opens in a new window]
LICHAO YANG
Affiliation:
School of Social Development and Public Policy, Room 2009, Library Building, Beijing Normal University, Xinjiekouwai Street 19, Haidian District, Beijing, China email: yanglichao@bnu.edu.cn
ROBERT WALKER
Affiliation:
Professor Emeritus, University of Oxford email: robert.walker@spi.ox.ac.uk
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Abstract

Taking China as a critical case, this article questions recent literature that asserts that shame attached to poverty is both ubiquitous and always problematic. In China, the concepts of shame, loss of face, lian (integrity) and mian (reputation) once provided an ethical framework under which the existence of poverty both indicated ineffective governance and provided individuals in poverty with opportunities to demonstrate virtuous behaviour in coping with life’s hardships. Maoist rhetoric went further presenting poor peasants as national heroes albeit the outcome of Maoist policies was often to hurt the most disadvantaged most. Subsequent marketisation has transformed poverty into a manifestation of personal failing with poverty-related shame having the same likely negative consequences as found elsewhere.

Keywords

Chinapoverty-related shameethicsmoralitygovernancemarketisation
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 49 , Issue 3 , July 2020 , pp. 564 - 581
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

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