The Rise of Inequality in China Analytical Essay by Top Papers

This paper examines this issue in terms of its historic development and how it has shaped China today, as well as its implications for China's future social and economic evolution. As is seen, one reason that this problem has been masked in the popular view of China today is that the world's view of China is a profoundly urban one, focusing on the obvious economic growth and new wealth in cities such as Shanghai. However, this focus ignores the profound poverty of China's rural and inland areas, which is not only a consequence of declining relative income but also a result of the decline of state support services as the bureaucracy has no incentives to assist this population. In this context, the thesis is argued that while this problem of inequality was probably inevitable given the inadequacies of the Chinese economy in the pre-reform era, unless the state focuses on successful achievement of initiatives to remedy this inequality, the resulting social discontent will threaten the fragile social and economic foundations of China's future.