Commodifying Communism Business, Trust, and Politics in a Chinese City [Paperback]

An examination of how private business is conducted through personal ties in China's market economy.Commodifying Communism is an ethnographic study of the role of personal ties between private entrepreneurs and local officials in the organization of China's emerging market economy. It is based upon almost two years of fieldwork in Xiamen City, Fujian, one of China's five special economic zones. A close examination of how private business is conducted through these ties sheds light on the dynamism of China's market economy and its political consequences.Commodifying Communism is an ethnographic study of the role of personal ties between private entrepreneurs and local officials in the organization of China's emerging market economy. It is based upon almost two years of fieldwork in Xiamen City, Fujian, one of China's five special economic zones. A close examination of how private business is conducted through these ties sheds light on the dynamism of China's market economy and its political consequences.Commodifying Communism is an ethnographic study of the role of personal ties between private entrepreneurs and local officials in the organization of China's emerging market economy. It is based on almost two years of fieldwork in Xiamen City, Fujian, one of China's five special economic zones. A close examination of how private business is conducted through these ties sheds light on the dynamism of China's market economy and its political consequences.Introduction; 1. Orientation of the study; 2. Institutional commodification: concepts and categories of analysts; Part I. Instituted Processes of Commercial Clientelism: 3. The structure of commercial opportunity of Xiamen; 4. Symbiotic transactions between private firms and public units; 5. Enhancing expectations: the social organization of contracts; 6. Entrepreneurial paths and capital: personal attributes as competitive advantage; Part II. Economic and Political Outcomes: 7. Comparing economic performance in China al#ì