中产阶级与埃及政局变化

本文认为,2011年埃及变局主要归因于中产阶级的民生问题。萨达特—穆巴拉克的政策以及各种外力导致了埃及社会结构的扭曲,引发中产阶级的政治地位下降、经济能力减弱、生活困难加剧,使中产阶级由社会的引领者变为政权的抗争者,最终颠覆了穆巴拉克政权。本文分析了中产阶级与这一社会变化之间的逻辑关系后强调,2011年埃及变局将有利于中产阶级的重新崛起与社会结构的合理发展。     

埃及新自由主义改革与政治剧变的关系探析

2011年埃及发生政治剧变,导致剧变的主要原因是政治威权与经济发展水平不相适应。新自由主义改革的实施导致埃及社会结构重组,由此产生了一系列改革的负面社会效应,包括民族工业破坏殆尽、经济寡头化、中产阶级破产、贫困率上升、裙带资本主义蔓延等,使得威权主义政权失去合法性,伊斯兰主义运动等反对派获得社会支持和社会动员能力。近年来,埃及政局虽逐渐恢复稳定,但高程度的政治威权与低水平的经济发展之间的矛盾却更加突出,进而使埃及仍存在陷入动荡的隐患。     

2011，资本全球化遭遇抗议全球化

2011，抗议年 越来越多的人意识到，2011年正成为全球化的一个拐点。这一年中，有两件事具有标志性的意义。首先是阿拉伯国家持续的抗议运动，突尼斯、埃及、利比亚等国政权的更迭，并没有给充满暴力的街头抗议画上句号。推翻了穆巴拉克的埃及，血腥的暴力冲突死灰复燃；叙利亚的抗议运动愈演愈烈；而也门的萨利赫政权已摇摇欲坠。其次是...     

宪法公投对后穆巴拉克时代埃及社会政治的影响

穆巴拉克政权的倒台开启了埃及政治重建进程。2012年岁末围绕宪法公投的政治危机乃是"一·二五"革命后,埃及社会政治力量格局演进的逻辑结果。伊斯兰主义者、世俗自由派和军方是后穆巴拉克时代左右埃及社会进程的三大力量。宪法危机的实质是未来埃及社会政治走向的大博弈,其背后是埃及宗教与世俗力量的对决以及总统与司法部门的冲突。军方在埃及政治经济事务中的利益和影响盘根错节,其在平衡宗教、世俗两派中努力保持"局势仲裁者"角色。在相当程度上,这场宪法公投危机折射出埃及乃至整个中东变局曲折复杂的演进态势及其发展前景。穆尔西访华有助于推动中埃战略合作关系迈上新台阶。     

后穆巴拉克时代的埃及穆斯林兄弟会

穆巴拉克政权倒台后,穆斯林兄弟会成为埃及政坛最具实力的政治力量。它通过组党、组建政治联盟、引导过渡期政治安排等措施,巩固了其在政治格局中的优势地位。由于穆兄会在组织结构、经济实力等方面的优势,加之埃及世俗政治力量的式微,它旗下的自由与正义党有望在议会选举中胜出。迄今为止,穆兄会的政治议程尚不明朗,但政治现实将促使其趋于务实。穆兄会的经济政策与穆巴拉克政权相似,使其难以领导埃及实现经济转型。与此同时,穆兄会的崛起将促进阿拉伯国家伊斯兰党派走向联合,引发阿拉伯世界地缘政治结构的变动。当然,穆兄会上台也为埃及与以色列和美国的关系带来较大的负面影响。     

埃及社会运动中的机会结构、水平网络与架构共鸣

本文源于一个令人困惑的问题:埃及2005年与2011年发生的两次致力于推翻穆巴拉克政府的大规模社会运动——受够了运动与一二五运动——为什么会带来不同的政治效应?本文以社会运动理论视角的分析发现,这两次社会运动在面临的政治机会结构、动员的水平网络方面没有明显区别,它们之间的差异主要体现在运动架构产生的共鸣程度不同。这种差异进而影响到动员能力,最终产生了不同的政治后果。     

穆巴拉克时期埃及妇女事业的发展与困境

在穆巴拉克时期,埃及妇女参与政治、经济与社会生活的力度明显提高。穆巴拉克政府重视妇女工作,注重从立法层面保障妇女权益和大力改善妇女经济与社会地位,推动了埃及妇女事业的发展。同时,埃及妇女事业发展仍面临诸多困境,主要表现为穆巴拉克政府的妇女政策存在局限性;埃及妇女失业问题严重,生存压力大;针对妇女的暴力问题频发等。尽管在穆巴拉克时期埃及妇女事业取得了重要进展,但妇女的政治与社会地位并没有从根本上得到改观,妇女依然是埃及社会发展进程中面临的难题之一。埃及妇女的解放与发展,除政府推动外,妇女自身也需要更多地参与政治、经济与社会生活。     

埃及的持续“革命”

"革命"毫无疑问是过去两年多埃及政治生活和政治话语的关键词. 2011年的"1·23革命",埃及人推翻了穆巴拉克政权专制、腐败的统治.2011年2月至2012年6月间,埃及人高举着"再次革命"的大旗,同过渡阶段掌权的最高军事委员会的恋权与固权行为作斗争.2012年6月,穆斯林兄弟会背景的穆尔西以微弱优势赢得总统大选,随后他提出"继续革命"的口号,试图将他领导的政党和政府塑造成"1·23革命"的代言人和"革命"目标的执行者.而反对派则从穆尔西执政一开始就以拒绝合作的姿态不断挑战穆尔西政权的执行力.双方都以捍卫"1·23革命"成就为由,支持和鼓动街头政治.     

资讯

阿拉伯的国家建设失败阿拉伯国家作为一块巨大的社会试验田出现的时间尚不足50年。在打着各种通常带有左倾民族主义色彩的政治旗号的同时,专制政权企图打破传统的社会结构,用国家制度取而代之。但到了穆巴拉克、卡扎菲和本·阿里当政吋,埃及、利比亚及突尼斯社会开始重新使川现代化以前的方式调解社会关系,西方称之为"腐败"。在这种情况下,阿拉伯人不明白为什么还需要官僚国家这种上层建     

"阿拉伯之春"后的埃及

穆巴拉克政权垮台已三个多月。埃及先后建立过渡政府,修改宪法,确定议会和总统选举时间表,试图进行政治重建,基本上避免了政治失控。     

New Economic Policy and the Malaysian multiethnic middle class

Generally the processes of modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation that took place especially after the National Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented in 1971, had transformed the economic structure and the Malaysian society. This transformation took place during an era of rapid economic growth and prosperity in Malaysia. One of the more important phenomena resulting from this transformation is the emergence, growth and expansion of the multiethnic middle class in the country, but particularly the Malay middle class. The emergence of this multiethnic middle class is significant economically, socially and politically. The growth and expansion of this middle class shows that it is very much a dynamic entity. It also shows that the class has yet to consolidate. This paper briefly traces the emergence and growth of the Malaysian multiethnic middle class, followed by a discussion on the roles they play in effecting changes in the Malaysian society.     

Social Change and Social Policy in Taiwan: New Poverty, M-shaped Society and Policy Implications

Along with radical changes in the global economy and family structure, Taiwan has experienced the re-emergence of the poverty problem that was thought disappearing after remarkable economic growth in the 1980s. This article would like to provide an updated profile of social changes in Taiwan, with special reference to the related poverty issues like new poverty and the M-shaped society, as Ohmae defines it in his well-known book. To begin with, we place some of the most recent developments in the context of unbalanced growth and increasing family crises. Ironically, people in Taiwan have widely used the terms of new poverty and M-shaped society since the end of 1990s, while the "economic miracle" the island wrought still remains a fond memory. Official statistics on poverty, unemployment, divorce, mental disease, and child abuse have all shown increases. The trend is a matter of serious concern. Unlike in Japan, the earnings of workers in Taiwan did not significantly decrease in recent years. Taiwan seems to deviate from the M-shaped society. We have developed two tentative but handy yardsticks for examining the shift of the middle class: the "balance index" and the "M-ratio". The former provides as a relative measure among different income groups, while the latter is designed to indicate the change of the middle class relative to the overall contribution of the people. Finally, we also discuss its implications to social policy in Taiwan.     

In search of a new working class

This paper examines the contemporary “theory of the new middle class” in so far as it purports to be the definitive rejection of Marx' original theory of class dynamics. Dealing with the question of an adequate definition of the “middle class,” the paper pursues two themes. First, it addresses the increasingly common argument that the various social classes in modern American society have become effectively indistinguishable in matters of consciousness and social outlooks. Second, it concerns itself with the outlook of the new working class. Data based on the 1972 – 1976 NORC General Social Surveys is examined in an attempt to clarify these issues. Author's Note: An earlier version of this paper was read at the annual meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society in New York, March 19, 1977. Data were made available by the National Opinion Research Center, Roper Public Opinion Research Center, and the Survey Archive for the Social Sciences, whose assistance is gratefully acknowledged. I also thank the University Computing Center and the Social and Demographic Research Institute (both of the University of Massachusetts) for their contributions to the research. Finally, my thanks to Richard Hamilton for detailed comments on an earlier draft, to Marianne Pietras for assistance in the data analysis, and to the Thursday Night Nine for sharpening my interest in problems of class and class structure in industrial society. Analysis and conclusions, of course, are my responsibility.     

Using the Concepts of Hermeneutical Injustice and Ideology to Explain the Stability of Ancient Egypt During the Middle Kingdom

This paper argues that the relative stability of ancient Egyptian society during the Middle Kingdom (c.2055 – 1650 BC) can in part be explained by referring to the phenomenon of hermeneutical injustice, i.e., the manner in which imbalances in socio-economic power are causally correlated with imbalances in the conceptual scheme through which people attempt to interpret their social reality and assert their interests in light of their interpretations. The court literature of the Middle Kingdom is analyzed using the concepts of hermeneutical injustice and ideology. It is argued that while it is true that there was room for maneuver and for internal critique, the efficacy of internal critique was hindered by the structure of the intellectual discourse of Middle Kingdom Egypt. This intellectual discourse was suitable for the interpretation of social reality in a way that allowed the elites to assert their interests, but it was not suitable for the interpretation of social reality in a way that accorded with the interests of the exploited peasantry.     

Lost in Transitions? Feudalism,Colonialism, and Egypt's Blocked Road to Capitalism (1800–1920)

We revisit the transition debate to capitalism through the historical case of nineteenth century Egypt and the theoretical lens of uneven and combined development. We argue that the twin concepts of formal and real subsumption of labor under capital offer a necessary methodological device to study capitalist transitions. We conclude that nineteenth century Egypt was not a society experiencing an ‘indigenous’ transition to capitalism that was blocked by colonial intervention. Instead, colonialism warped the ongoing formation of a commercial-absolutist state, which led to a combination of feudal and capitalist social forms that lingered well into the middle of the twentieth century. Through a long-term historical analysis of the Egyptian social formation as a complex ensemble of political power relations and ongoing cycles of articulations of multiple mode of productions we problematize the dominant ‘modernization’ thesis. The modernization paradigm presupposes that economic growth will take place due to globalized markets, transforming, in turn, existing social and political practices and institutions along modern lines. This idea has been reiterated by neoclassical and neo-institutionalist economists who understand economic backwardness as a simple lack of market-efficient behavior of local economic agents. As such, we also emphasize that the gradual integration of the Egyptian social formation into the capitalist world market did not automatically lead to the establishment of a dominant capitalist mode of production within this formation.     

Crisis, Identity, and Social Distinction: Cultural Politics of Food, Taste, and Consumption in Late Colonial Bengal

Abstract  This paper explores the culture of taste in the production of an urban, Hindu, Bengali middle class in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Bengal/India. It analyzes how the Bengali middle class, the bhadralok , attempted to construct a "doxa" of gastronomy in order to subsume a dominant position for itself and to classify hierarchically other classes and social groups. The aspirations of this class as the future guardians of an incipient nation were in reality a politics of self-identity, which was based on ideas of a cultural exclusivity. This politics of self-identity for the Bengali middle class were inextricably inter-woven with issues of modernity, nationalism, and colonialism. Through my analysis, I stress the importance of the "historical" or the "collective", particularly in the context of formation of the bhadralok , as a dominant class.     

How social ties transcend class boundaries? Network variability as tool for exploring occupational homophily

The research on social network analysis established the existence of class homophily, the tendency that personal networks are homogeneous in the class sense, as one of the governing patterns. This is explained via two main mechanisms: choice homophily and induced homophily. But the literature focused less on the question how can class boundaries be transgressed and what are the channels of class heterophily. This paper explores class heterophily on Croatian data acquired through position generator, which measures social capital (resources captured in social relations) by exploring the range of different occupational positions which are accessible to an individual (extensity index). Network variability is thereby taken as proxy for class composition of personal networks. The paper concludes that that political participation and sociability enable cross-class ties, since this offers an opportunity to meet and befriend people from all walks of life; and that people on the middle of the social hierarchy have the most diverse social networks. The hypotheses that social mobility can represent a vehicle for class heterophily; and that class heterophily is more pronounced in smaller settlements, where society networks show more overlap between social circles; were confirmed only partially, and require further investigation. These findings concern class boundaries related to the notion of choice homophily. As for induced homophily, the paper concludes that here too the boundaries are not watertight, as cultural omnivores have a wider range of class contacts.     

CROSS-CLASS PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL CLASS

This article explores how members of the American middle and working classes perceive themselves and each other's lives. The data offer an opportunity to address the relevance of social class as a concept for understanding American society while at the same time helping to clarify the debate over the question of whether the working class is integrated into American society or angry, alienated, and resistant to mainstream goals and institutions. The data reported here suggest that the attitudes held by many members of the middle class, which members of the working class perceive during social interaction, have an impact on the self-confidence of working-class individuals, causing some of them to experience self-doubt, pain, and hidden injuries. Social class as defined by education, occupational prestige, and income still matters in the United States. The American working class may not be class conscious in the classic Marxian sense of the concept - a class for itself - but it does have a deep understanding of the inequalities between "us" and "them". The respondents in this study do not yet know they live in a postmodern world. The attitudes and actions of members of the middle class toward working-class culture help (re) create the American working class.     

Insurgent Labor, Economic Change, and Social Development: Costa Rica, 1900–1948

Costa Rica in the 1930s had a level of social development typical of a peripheral society, yet today Costa Ricans enjoy a level equivalent to the wealthier US and Italy. This paper examines the contribution of labor to state formation and social development. Beginning around the First World War, labor gradually forced the adoption of social legislation that altered the distribution of social power and reshaped the ideological and institutional character of the state. Reactions to the increasing power of labor and the state culminated in the 1948 social pact among labor, the middle strata and the dominant class that institutionalized the existing ideological and strategic trends responsible for the present level of social development.     

Sex differences in the vocabulary of college students

The present study replicated Jastrow's 1891 experiment concerning differences between male and female vocabulary. Participants were 20 male and 20 female Caucasian middle‐class college students. They recorded up to 100 nouns in a 15‐minute period. Results indicate that women have increased their use of unusual words compared to women in 1891. Males used more scientific words and more body part words than females. In contrast to the previous study, there are no significant differences between the sexes in use of animal, nature, and food words. Females used more clothing words than males in this study, as in the previous study, and produced more different words than males. Vocabulary changes appear to reflect changes in the social structure of the society.