Based on a 1996 sampling survey data(n = 754)collected in Wuhan, Hubei, PRC, this paper explores people's strata consciousness in urban China during the transformation era. Findings from statistical analysis sugge...Based on a 1996 sampling survey data(n = 754)collected in Wuhan, Hubei, PRC, this paper explores people's strata consciousness in urban China during the transformation era. Findings from statistical analysis suggest that most urban residents have clear perception of social stratification. Stratification in urban society is mainly perceived as an economic as well as a power hierarchy, while occupation is not considered as the core indicator of stratification as it is in some west societies. Contemporary urban China is socially neither a status society based on family background nor "class society"of Marx's definition. It is also found that urban residents in Wuhan tend to identify with middle-lower strata on economic dimension, with middie-upper strata on prestige dimension, and with lower-bottom strata on power dimension, which suggest"an inclination of social-prestige climbing" on the one hand and "a sense of relative deprivation of power" on the other. While the identifications on the three dimensions are highly correlated, economic status indentification is most important to people's identification of their overall socio-economic status.展开更多
文摘Based on a 1996 sampling survey data(n = 754)collected in Wuhan, Hubei, PRC, this paper explores people's strata consciousness in urban China during the transformation era. Findings from statistical analysis suggest that most urban residents have clear perception of social stratification. Stratification in urban society is mainly perceived as an economic as well as a power hierarchy, while occupation is not considered as the core indicator of stratification as it is in some west societies. Contemporary urban China is socially neither a status society based on family background nor "class society"of Marx's definition. It is also found that urban residents in Wuhan tend to identify with middle-lower strata on economic dimension, with middie-upper strata on prestige dimension, and with lower-bottom strata on power dimension, which suggest"an inclination of social-prestige climbing" on the one hand and "a sense of relative deprivation of power" on the other. While the identifications on the three dimensions are highly correlated, economic status indentification is most important to people's identification of their overall socio-economic status.
