Do more strikes mean a stronger labor resistance in China?

What is it about?

This paper makes a distinction between what workers do and what they think when measuring their agency for change. Although the increased numbers of strikes clearly show increased activism, this paper measures how the workers think in respect of labor resistance. It examines Chinese workers’ cognitive agency in the megacities and lower-tier cities via statistical survey data. I argue that a relatively low class identification, poor understanding of democracy and politics, and a weak sense of solidarity combine to reveal a new working class in post-socialist China that, in general, shows both weak cognitive agency and growing conservativism.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

It is often assumed that rising labor unrest and growing strike numbers mean a healthy and active labor resistance in China. This paper challenges this assumption by re-conceptualising the notion of labor agency, or resistance. Labor agency is broken down into action and cognition for analysis. This distinction of workers’ behavioral and cognitive agency is vital. On the one hand, it provides insight into the ongoing debate whether the current Chinese labor activism is insurgency or stagnancy. On the other hand, it may eventually challenge all labor interest parties to re-think their current strategies of labor engagement and organization.

Perspectives