Abstract
In contrast to the existing argument that the logic of capital has
monetised almost every aspect of human relationships to the realm of
exchange value, this article explores the social values that are
practised by Chinese working-class youth as an alternative form of
agency and everyday practice. Instead of understanding social values as a
realm of value operating entirely outside the logic of exchange value,
this article takes social values as the constitutive other of exchange
value embodied in the neoliberalised form of capitalism. It attempts to
develop a micro-foundation of social values or a social mechanism of
values for understanding social protection and class solidarity.
Employing in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations in
vocational schools in China, at sites for the education and nurture of
working-class youth, we ask what social values are, how they are
perceived and exercised, and by whom. From students’ practices of care
in schools, cooperation in the workplace and solidarity in the
community, our goal is to build a micro-foundation of social values that
challenges and goes beyond the logic of exchange value.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1050-1065 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Sociological Review |
Volume | 67 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2019 |
Scopus Subject Areas
- Sociology and Political Science
User-Defined Keywords
- China
- social values
- value
- vocational education
- working class