| Abstract: | China's contemporary paradox springs from spectacular economic growth built upon a foundation of environmental degradation. Combined with rapid social stratification, serious challenges to the state's legitimacy result at a time when its ability to meet the needs of the broad majority is constrained by both structural and political limitations. These contradictions will become increasingly apparent as more critical assessments are made of the reform era. The agrarian sector, through articulation into new markets, is being transformed through short-term practices that emphasize individual income over long-term sustainable development. Using a multi-level analysis, this paper illustrates these issues through village and household case studies in northeast China, contextualized within a brief overview of the reform era, and China's rapidly changing global position. |
