East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective 9576716225, 9576716233

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EAST ASIAN MIDDLE CLASSES HT

COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Edited by

HSIN-HUANG MICHAEL HSIA Q

Institute of Ethnology Academia Silica Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Published by the Institute of Ethnology.. Academia Sinica Nanchang, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China

© 1999 by Institute of Ethnology, Academia Silica. All rights reserved.

Cover design: Alexander Hsiao

Institute of Ethnology Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data I-Isiao, Hein-Huang Michael, 1948East Asian middle classes in comparative perspective / edited by Hsia-Huang Michael Hsiao. .

P. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 957-671-622-5 (cloth) (NT$500) ISBN 957-671-623-3 (pack.) (NT$-400) 1. Middle class-East Asia. 2. Middle class-Taiwan. 3. Middle class Hong Kong. 4. Middle class Korea (South). 5. Middle classSingapore. 6. Middle class-Social conditions- I. Hsiao, Hsin~Huang Michael HT690.E37 E27 1999

Fritted m Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

Contents

Preface

vii

Contributors

Fart I 1.

Overview

The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes: The Five Propositions

Hsia-Huang Michael Hsiao and Alvin Y. So 2.

The Middle Class in Marxist and Weberian Class Analysis Erik Olin Wright

Part II 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

ix

3

51

Portraying East Asian Middle Classes

The Middle Classes in the East Asian Newly industrialized Societies: Issues, Preliminary Findings and Further Questions Hagen Koo

83

Frofiles of the Korean Middle Class

Do0-Seung Hong

101

Middle Classes in Taipei: Specifications, Estimations and the Socio-economic Profiles [in-You Shed

127

Inequality, Grievance and Justice: A Freliminary Study of the Hong Kong Middle Class Ethos Thomas W. P. Wong

1-49

The Construction of a Contented and Cautious Middle Class Co/Jon-Hang Leong

177

vi

East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective

Part III 8.

9.

Middle Class Politics and Culture

Personal Trouble or Public Issue: The Service Class in the Process of Decolonization Tai-Lok Lui

225

Social Attitudes and Political Orientations of the Korean Middle Class

Kyong-Dong Kim 10. The Middle Classes and the Government: Reciprocal or interdependent? Lau~Fong May

243

257

11. Social Attitudes of the Middle Classes in Taiwan

Naitek W u

291

12. Class Culture or Culture Class? Lifestyles and Cultural Tastes

of the Korean Middle Class longhorn Yang

Part IV

319

Comparisons

13. The Japanese Middle Class and Politics After World War II

Taketoshi Irnada

367

14. Malaysian Middle Classes: Some Preliminary Observations Abdul Ragman, Embong

389

15. Is the British Countryside Middle Class? Cohn Lorry

417

16. The Old Middle Class in Newly Industrialized Countries: Historical, Comparative and Theoretical Perspectives

Val Burris

435

17. With Capital, Labor, or On Their Own? The Middle Class Foundations of Development in East Asia and Latin America

Diane E, Davis Index

455

493

Preface

The 17 essays collected in this volume are the revised versions of papers originally presented at an international conference on "East Asian Middle Classes and National Development in Comparative Perspective," held at the Academia Sinica, supported by a conference grant from the Chiang Ching Kuo (CCK) Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, in Taipei, 19-21 December 1994. It has been four years since the conference, as the conference organizer and volume editor, I take sole responsibility for not having been able to produce the book earlier. Although it is overdue, this volume does represent the product of the multi~year East Asian Middle Classes (EAMC) Project that also has been funded by the CCK Foundation in Taipei. A total of 13 sociologists from Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have participated in this ambitious comparative research team. The EAMC Project was set to investigate the formation, character and politics of the rising middle classes in the rapidly industrialized East Asian societies like Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore. Several project meetings were also organized to discuss issues relating to conducting sampling surveys in Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore, interpreting preliminary city~wide survey data as well as devising ways to carry out comparative analysis at various phases of the project between 1991 and 1994. Specifically, the project on which this current volume is based has been organized to explore: l. empirically the composition of class

structure in the above four major East Asian capital cities, 2. how the middle class is situated in the overall class structure and how various

segments of the middle class are constructed in 3. the making of the overall social, cultural, character of the East Asian middle classes; intra-class differences that can be considered characters of the East Asian middle classes; and

each East Asian society, economic and political inter-class to be the unique class 5. the relations between

the emergence of the middle classes and political democratization in East Asia. The first 12 chapters of this current volume are organized iN a rather

similar fashion. They are grouped under three major themes: theoretical

viii

East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective

and empirical overview, portrayal of the East Asian middle classes, and middle class politics and culture. Twelve out of the 13 authors (Hsiao, So, Koo, Hong, Sheu, Wong, Leong, Lui, Kim, Mak, Wu and Yang) listed in the first three parts of this volume are EAMC Project participants.

Chapters 13 to 17 in Part IV of this volume are designed to provide useful comparative insights where the middle classes of Japan from East

Asia, Malaysia from Southeast Asia, Britain from West Europe, and Latin America are used to compare with the East Asian middle classes. The five authors (Irnada, BRahman, Urry, Burris and Davis) and Wright of Chapter

2 are invited contributors in the conference as well as this volume. This current volume can be viewed as a sequel to a previous volume, entitled Discovery of the Middle Classes in East Asia (Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, 1993) which was also edited by me. The authors in these two volumes are pretty much the same. The previous volume was an important step towards the organization of the EAMC Project, and this current volume is undoubtedly a significant end result of the Project.

As director of the project , I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all project members with whom I have had the personal and intellectual pleasure to work for more than ten years. Their support and cooperation are much valued for the completion of this multi-year research project.

On behalf of all EAMC Project members, l am grateful to the CCK . As editor, I would like to thank all the contributing authors especially those invited contributors who graciously agreed to take part in our EAMC conference and revised their papers for the final publication. I am also indebted to my former affiliation, the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, for hosting the EAMC Project and conference as well as Foundation for financial support.

publishing this volume. The editorial assislance of Po-san Wan is crucial

to the final publication of this volume and should be greatly appreciated.

H. H. Michael Hsiao Ianuary 1999

Contributors

Abdul Rah ran, Embong Department of Anthropology and Sociology, National University of Malaysia, Malaysia Burris, Val Department of Sociology, University

of Oregon, LISA

Davis, Diane E.

Department of Sociology, New ScNoolfor Social Research, LISA

Hong, Doo-Seung Department of Sociology, Seoul National University, South Korea Hsiao, Hsia-HuangMichael Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan mada, Takafzoshi

Center for HwtzaMties and Social Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

Kim, Kyong-Dong Department of Sociology, Seoul National University, South Korea

Koo, Hagen

Department of Sociology, University of Haiwali of Manna, LISA

Leong, Choom-Hang Malaysia University of Science and Technology, Malaysia

Lui, Tai-Lok Departnzerzt of Sociology, The Chinese University of f-long Kong, Hong Kong

Mak, Lau-Fong Graduate Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Tamlcang Lfnivcrsily, Tdifvrur

x

East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective

Sher, ]is-You Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Stntca, Taiwan

So, Alvin Y. Division of So-cial Science, Hong Kong University

of Science and

Tcchnologj, Hong Kong

Urry, Iohn Department of Sociology, Lancaster Llnioersity, UK Wong, Thomas W. P. Department .of Sociology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Wright, Erik Olin

Department of Sociology, Ltnioerstty of Wisconsin (Madison), LISA Wu, Naiteh

Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Yang, Jonghoe Department of Sociology, Sung Kyun Kwan Llnioersity, South Korea

PART I

Overview

The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes The Five Propositions

Hsia-Huang Michael Hsiao Alvin Y . So

I. Introduction As a consequence of rapid economic development over the past three decades, a large middle class has gradually emerged in the newly industrialized economies (FilEs) in leaSt Asia - Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. In these East Asian NIEs, the number of clerical, managerial, professional and technical workers, on the one hand, in~ creased as fast as, if not faster than, industrial manual workers. On the other hand, the size of small firms in the East Asian FilEs, instead of having declined, have increased steadily as a result of the recent postFordist tendency of relocating manufacturing activities from advanced capitalist nations to developing nations. Subsequently, the East Asian NIEs brought about a simultaneous increase of both the "new middle class" and the "old middle class" (small employers and the petty bourgeoisie). Concentrated in large urban centers, the East Asian middle class began to emerge as a new socio~political force to remold its societies.

Nevertheless, despite the existence of many journalistic accounts on

the East Asian middle class, very few systematic inquiries have been carried out on them in each of the East Asian NIES, let alone any

cross-society comparative studies. In this respect, the present EAMC (East Asian Middle Classes) Project is the first large scale empirical investigations on the middle class in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. There are generally four critical issues in the study of the East Asian middle class. (1) The boundary issue: How can we distinguish the middle class from other classes? What criteria and class scheme should be adopted to draw class boundaries? (2) The sociological profile issue: What are the social characteristics of the East Asian middle class in terms

4

East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective

of family background, marriage pattern and homogeneity? (3) The lifestyle and class identity issue: What are the lifestyles of the middle class? Do its members identify themselves as middle class or other classes? (4) The class politics issue: What are the attitudes of the middle class toward the state, social justice and democratic transitions? How active is the middle class in political movements and elections?

II. The Five Propositions In studying the above four issues, the literature on the East Asian middle

class has proposed the following five propositions. First, there is the first generation proposition (Lui, 1987; Cheung, 1987; Hsiao, 1989). It is argued that the middle class has emerged and developed in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore only since the 1970s, when these economies were undergoing rapid industrialization. As a result, many members of the middle class were born after World War II, tended to some from worker and peasant family backgrounds, and experienced poverty and hardship during their childhood. Growing up in a "multiclass family" setting, the first generation East Asian middle class is said to exhibit an ambiguous class identity and ambivalent attitudes toward other classes, yet holds a sense of injustice, feels close to the working class, and stands on the side of workers in capital-labor conflict. Second, there is the affluent proposition (Lui and Wong, 1994). It is argued that the middle class is the main beneficiary of the rapid capitalist development of the East Asian NIEs. Favorable market situations (such as high salaries, career development and housing benefits) have enabled the East Asian middle class to enjoy life and develop a set of distinctive class symbols to show its high status. Needless to say, the affluent East Asian middle class prefers to find a spouse from its own class rather than

marrying a member from the working class. Trying to preserve its privileges, the middle class is said to be pro-establishment and for the status quo and it has become a conservative force in East Asia. Third, there is the ascending class proposition (So and Kwitko, 1990) . Instead of pro-labor or pro-capital, the East Asian middle class is said to be for itself. Having technical expertise and providing indispensable professional services, the middle class sees itself as an ascending class in East Asia. lt looks upon itself as a vanguard of democracy and a great contributor to society. It promotes such new social movements as environmental, gender and consumer movements, and its members are

active in electoral politics- Subsequently, state managers, capitalists and labor leaders in East Asia are competing for political support from the

ascending middle class.

The Making Making of the East Asian Middle Middle Classes

5

Hsiao (1993) delibes Fourth, there is the middle classes proposition. I-lsiao ately uses term "middle classes" instead of middle class in order to uses the term highlight the significant internal differentiations class. differentiations within the middle class. Thus, the middle classes can be subdivided among the so-called "new middle class" (salaried professional and managerial employees), the "old bourgeoisie) and the employers and the petty bourgeoisie) class" (small employers middle class" "marginal middle class" (routine non-manual employees). The new middle class segment is said to be sympathetic to the working class; the old middle class segment shows a more conservative tendency; and the action. expresses a desire for collective action. middle class segment expresses marginal middle Even within the new middle class, class, the different different sizes of employing Even organizations influential in shaping the different social organizations are found to be influential and political attitudes held by the subdivisions of this class (Hsiao, 1994). Finally, there is the national culture proposition (Mak and Leong, 1994). It is often said South Taiwan, South lump Taiwan, that it is inappropriate to lump said that Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore together into the FilEs category. Despite their similar pattern of rapid industrialization, the four societies are quite different in terms terms of their political their national culture and political structure. Journalists Journalists reported that Singapore and Hong Kong people, irrespective of their classes, as a whole are generally political conservative and and show little interests in political movements, while the people in Taiwan and South Korea are highly political conscious and more anxious to reform their governments. Therefore, it is national culture, not middle middle class experience per se, that plays a decisive role in East Asian development. In order to examine the above issues and propositions from ai comparative framework, .the Institute Institute of Ethnology at at. the the Academia comparative Sinica developed a collaborative research project with the collaborative EAMC research Silica Population and Development Studies Center at the Seoul National University, the Department of Sociology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Department of Sociology at the National University of Singapore and the Department of Sociology at the University of Hawaii. A total of 13 researchers participated in the researchers from these five areas have participated project. And the project is funded by the Chiang Ching Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange in Taipei. In December was held in Singapore to December 1991, a planning meeting was discuss issues issues relating relating to the research design (such as sampling sampling methods, methods, questionnaire construction and interview techniques) in Taipei, Seoul,

Hong in the second half of. 1992, survey Hong Kong and Singapore. In questionnaires were collected in these four cities. In February 1993,

another meeting was held in Hong Kong to discuss the preliminary

6

East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective

findings w e ] as to devise ways of carrying out comparative findings as well comparative analyses. analyses. The following preliminary analyses are based upon the four preliminary national reports. Before reporting the findings of the reports, however, it is important to briefly discuss the rationale of our choice of class scheme and the characteristics of our our national samples.

III. The Class Scheme and Samples Both Neo-Marxist Neo-Marxist (e.8., Erik O. Wright) and Neo~Weberiar1 Neo~'Weberian (e.8., (e.g., Cohn John Goldthorpe) have formulated competing class schemes to delineate the class structure structure of advanced capitalist societies. Wright's scheme focuses upon upon the distinctions distinctions among domination, appropriation appropriation (exploitation) (exploitation) and capitalist mode of production production versus simple commodity commodity mode of production. Goldthorpe uses the term "service class" to describe what is broadly broadly called called the new middle class in the literature. literature. For Goldthorpe, Goldthorpc, a where it is required of employees that they service relationship exists where exercise delegated authority or specialized knowledge and expertise in the interests of their employing organization. According to our Hong Kong report, Goldthorpe's scheme is found According found to be more vigorous than that of Wright's and is more capable of revealing the dynamics of the structuring structuring of class. This is because Wright's class serious problems of locating respondents who are not the scheme has serious owners of the means of production and, at the same time, unlike the "typical" proletariat, have not been totally deprived of job autonomy, authority and capacity of decision-making. decision-making. The Hong Kong report asserts that, theoretically, theoretically, Wright's conception of control is rather narrow; and, empirically, the operationalization of Wright's scheme relies too heavily on the interviewees' "unreliable" "unreliable" answers to questions questions concerning concerning autonomy, supervision and decision-making. decision-making. Subsequently, Subsequently, Goldthorpe's Neo-Weberian (with some revisions revisions by each Neo-Weberian scheme scheme (with national team), rather rather than than Wright's Neo~Marxist scheme, is adopted for national our analysis of the East Asian middle class class in the following sections. The original Goldthorpe's class scheme is presented in Table 1. l. It has eleven classes classes ranging from higher-grade professionals (I), lower-grade professionals (II), routine non-manual employees (Illa), (Ilia), personal service workers (lllb), small proprietors with employees {IVa), (lVa), small proprietors without employees (IVb), farmers (IVc), lower-grade technicians (V), skilled inanual manual workers (Via), semi-skilled and unskilled manual

workers (Vlla), (Vila), to agricultural workers (Vllb).

The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes

Table 1

The Original Goldthorpe's Class Scheme GoldI;horpe's Class Descriptions Descriptions

Class Service Service

7

I

II

Higher-grade professionals, administrators and officials; managers in large large establishments, large proprietors

Lower-grade professionals, administrators and officials,

higher-grade technicians, technicians, managers in small business and and industrial establishments; supervisors of non-manual employees non-manual

Intermediate Illa Intermediate

Working

Routine non-manual employees in administration and

commerce Personal service service workers workers Personal

mb IIIb IVa IVb

Small proprietors, artisans, etc., without employees

[VC

Farmers and small-holders; self-employed fishermen

V

Lower-grade technicians; supervisors of manual workers

Via Vlla VIIa

Skilled manual workers . Semi-skilled and unskilled Semi-skilled unskilled manual manual workers (not in agriculture) agriculture)

Vllb

Agricultural workers workers

Small proprietors, artisans, etc., with employees

Source: Marshall et al. Source; Adapted from Marshall aL (1988222). (198822).

Since the original Goldthorpe's scheme has too many categories, each

of our national reports has somewhat regrouped Goldthorpe's scheme to fit its analyses. For the Hong Kong rep ort, the scheme is I, II, III, lVa, IVa, IVb, V, VII and farm workers. For the Korean report, report, it is high grade service (I), (1), low grade service (II), petty bourgeoisie (We + IVb + lVc), I V ) , routine non-manual (Illa (Illa + Illb), IIIb), manual supervisor (V), skilled workers (Vla), non-skilled workers (Vlla + Vllb). For the Taiwan report, it is new middle class (I + II), capitalists (if IVa bigger or equal equal to 20), small employers (old middle class) (if lVa less than 20), petty bourgeoisie (lvb + lVc), lower IVa white collars (marginal middle middle class)(IIIa), cla5s)(Illa), worldng working class (lllb + V + Via + Vila + Vllb). Finally, for the Singapore' Singapore' report, it is middle class I, middle class II, capitalists (if IVa bigger or equal to 20), middle class lV IV (if IVa less than 20 + IVb working lvb + I V ) , middle class III (Illa + lllb) and worldng class (V + Via + Vlla + Vllb).

8

in Comparative Comparative Perspective East Asian Middle Classes in

In order to ensure comparability across the FilEs, NIEs, we have developed a simplified and revised 5-category class scheme from Goldthorpe's 11-category scheme (Table (Table 2). Our revised scheme extracts "capitalist class," which is operationalized as "employer hires 20 or more

employees," out of Classes I and II. The rest of Classes lI and II In are employees," regrouped as "new middle class." Goldthorpe's two "small employers" categories, i.e., Classes IVa Wa + Wh are grouped into the "old middle class" category. Two lower middle class strata - Classes Illa Illb or routine Ilia and lllb non-manual and personal service workers - are merged together into one category and labeled as "marginal middle class," whereas Classes V, Via and Vlla twoo Vila are grouped into the "working class" category. The last tw

categories of Goldthorpe's scheme, Classes IV lVc and Vllb, are combined together as one category - "farmers/farm labor." Due to their small sample sizes, "capitalist class" and "farmers/farm "farmers/farm labor" categories will be excluded from most part of our analysis below. NIEs, the Considering the different political contexts in the East Asian lilIEs, four national teams involved in this comparative comparative project have adopted different methods of sample. sampling (Table 3). The Taiwan sample was drawn from the voters' rosters for the 1991 National Assembly Election; it included all citizens who were with household registration record in Taipei before Tune 30, 1991. The least 20 years old before were at least Taipei city and who were Korea sampling unit was districts for general election in Seoul; individual respondents respondents were selected 'by by quotas quotas of age (20 or over) and gender (with sex ratio set to 1:1 and housewives were not excluded). The Hong Kong sample was drawn from a list of addresses of living quarters from the Census, and it was a random selection of men and women aged

20 to 65 who were economically active (including part-timers and homeworkers) and not in full-time education. Since the Singapore team

failed to gain access to either the voting registrar registrar or Census listing, it drew its sample from two public housing estates as well as private

housing located close to these two public housing estates; only those living in 3-room 5-room apartments maisonettes were executive maisonettes aparUnents and executive 3~room to 5-room included. The response response rates of the four surveys vary from 62% in Singapore, Korea, 55% in Hong Kong, to 30% in Taiwan. The sample sizes 61% in Korea, (Ns) used Taipei, 730 in reports are 1,125 in Taipei, national reports analysis in the national used for analysis Seoul, 590 in Hong Kong and 730 in Singapore (Table 3). Since the goal of the project is to study the middle class, the national (city) surveys have specifically included a large number of middle class respondents in their samples. Thus the Taiwan sample is composed of

1.5% capitalist class, 26.0% new middle class, 16.6% old middle class,

The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes

Table 2

9

The Revised Goldthorpe's Class Scheme Used in the EAMC Project

Goldthorpds original original scheme Goldthorpe's

EAMC project project

I

Higher-grade Higher-grade professionals professionals

Capitalist Capitalist (employers hire 20 or

II

Lower-grade professionals

more employees) New middle middle class

Wa Small employers IVa employers with with employees employees IVb Small employers without employees

Old middle class

Hia nowrrlanualal employees His Routine Routine nowmanu lIllb Personal service service workers 1Il'b

Marginal middle class = Ilia Hia + Ilfb Hub

Technicians supervisors V Technicians and supervisors Via Skilled workers

Working class Working

= IVa + We

VIa + Vila VIIa = V + Via

non -skilled workers VIIa Semi- / non-skilled IVc Farmers IV Vllb VIA; Agricultural workers

Table 3

Sampling Sampling Methods and Sample Sample Sizes Taiwan Taiwan

Sampling method

Response rate (%) ("/0) Effective

Farmers/ farm labor = = IVc -|-+ Vllb Farmers/farm VIIb

Korea Korea

Voters' rosters for Districts for

Hong Kong Hong

Singapore

Random

Housing Housing estate estate

selection and and

with 3-bedroom

Assembly Assembly Election Election

general general election

Census address

and up

30.0

60.8

54.8

62.0

1,125

730

590

730

the 1991 1991 National

sample size

41.9% 41.9% marginal :middle middle class, 13.6% working class and 0.4% farmers and

farm labor. The Korea sample is composed of 1.0% capitalist class, 30.1% new class, 18.7% marginal new middle class, 30.8% old middle class, marginal middle class, 19.4% working class and 0.1% farmers and farm labor. The Hong Kong sample is composed of 3.2% capitalist class, 17.6% new middle class,

10

East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective

11.2% old middle class, 24.9% marginal middle class and 43.1 °/0 % working class. capitalist class, composed of 1.6% capitalist Singapore sample is composed class. Finally, the Singapore 69.1% new marginal middle new middle class, 4.5% old middle class, 12.4% marginal class and 12.4% working class (Table 4). With the over-sampling of middle class plus the rather different sampling methods adopted by each national team, it should be noted that the figures presented here are not suitable for comparing the class compositions across the four East Asian societies (cities). This weakness should call for further analysis and explanation which focus particularly on the commonality and difference of the class compositions among the four East Asian NIEs.

IV. The First Generation Proposition In order to evaluate the first proposition, we have decomposed it into into two sets of interrelated statements. First, the post-World War II structural structural changes, especially the rapid economic development since the 19705, have led to a significant significant expansion expansion of middle class positions, positions, primarily the new middle class and the marginal middle class, in the four East Asian NIEs. To a large extent, the expanded middle middle class positions have provided upward-mobile opportunities with farming or worktor those with opportunities for ing class origins. Second, as a result of the structural mobility, substan-

Distribution Distribution of Classes

Table 4

Taiwan T iw n

% Capitalist class

New middle class Old middle middle class middle Marginal middle Marginal

(N)

1.5

(17)

26.0

(291)

16.6 41.9 13.6

Korea Ko

% LO1.0

I-long Kang H nc Kong

(N) (7) (73

04, %

(N)

3.2

(19) {19)

Singapore Sing for 0 % /o

1.6

(N) (12)

30.1 (220)

17.6 (104 (104))

69.1 (503)

(186)

30.8 (225)

(33)

18.7 (137)

11.2 11 .2 (66) 24.9 (147)

4.5

(470)

12.4

(90) (OU)

(153)

19.4 (142)

43.1 (254)

12.4

(90) (90)

class Working class

0.4 (4) Farmers/farm Farmers/ farm labor Total 100.0 (1121) Note; Note:

0.1

(1)

100.0 (732)

100.0 (590)

100.0 1UU.0 (728)

Those unemployed at the time of the interview are excluded.

The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes

11

five time proportion of the middle class(es), or at least those with farming or working class origin, would would display a certain degree of affinity with their own social origins or ambiguous subjective class identity as well as pro~labor orientations. pro~labor and anti~big business business orientations. From From the comparison of the marginal distributions between the respondents' and their fathers' fathers' class positions while the respondents were were at age 15, the proportion of farmers and farm labor reduced dramatically dramatically in all four tour NIEs (Table 5). Except for a slight decrease decrease of the marginal middle class and an increase of the old middle class in Korea, we can see that that there were significant expansions of new middle class and marginal middle class positions as well as a decrease of old middle class positions in the respondents' generation. The new middle class class gmszapore from 13 7 / to 31 3 / in in Smaarsaaa. 13.7% 31.3% in increased from S W o 'to 67.9% in 9 15.0°/5 Too to - . n o Hong Korea, from 15.0°/I t' 8.4% to 18.2% in Hong Kong. Except for the change from 13.8% to 12.8% ao// in Singapore, Kong. Singapore, the marginal middle middle class increased from 7.5% W 26.5% in Hong Hong Kong, marginal 11.4°/o to tO 19.1% ill Korea. Although 23.4% to 40.9% in Taiwan and 11.4% increased from 23.3% to 30.2% in Korea, the proportion of old middle . .... .

'in

saw .

.u

'HI

Table Table 5

Intergenerational Changes in Class Compositions Compositions (O/0) Intergenerational Changes in (%) Korea Korea

Taiwan

o

O EM EM

D DD D--O0

3.0 1.6 -1.4

O o

D DD D--OO

0.0 0.3

0.3

Hong Hong Kong Kong

Singapore

o DD DD--OO

o D DD ~~ OO

o

2.8 2.6 -0.2

5.0 1.5 -3.5

2.7 1.6 -1.1

Pooled Pooled

D DD D--OO

NMC 15.027.3 12.3 13.7313 17.6 8.418.2 9.8 32.167.9 35.8 17.135.2 18.1 OMC -10.7 23.3302 -13.7 7.0 4.4 -2.6 21.5 21.516.0 OMC 27,416.7 27.416.7-10.7 23.330.2 6.9 24.8111 24.811.1-13.7 16.0 -5.5 MMC 23,440.9 23.440.9 17.5 11,419.1 7.7 75265 7.526.5 19.0 13.812.8 13.8128 -1.0 15.5271 15,527.1 11.6

WC FA

12.513.0 7818.8 23.720.0 ~3.7 12.5 13.0 0.5 78 18.8 11.5 48.841.7 -7.1 36.8133-23.5 36.813.3~23.5 23.7200 18.8 0.4 -18.4 44.2 0.2-44.0 0.2-44.0 7.7 0-0 0.0 -7.7 5.3 0.0 ~5.3 19.4 0.2 -19.2

(n) Notes: Notes:

(975)

=

(613)

=

(533)

(585)

=

O Origin, Origin, D Destination; D-O Rate of change. EM = Employers; Employers; NMC = New middle class;

Old middle middle class; MMC Marginal middle middle class; MMC = Marginal class; OMC = Old WC

= Working Farmers. Working class; FA = Farmers.

(2706)

Perspective East Asian Comparative Perspective in Comparative Middle Classes in Asian Middle

12

'

m Hong Kong, 27.4% to class position decreased from 24.8% to 11.1% M 16.7% in Taiwan and 7.0% to 4.4% in Singapore. Table 6 presents the patterns of recruitment into middle class substantive positions in the four East Asian NIEs. shows that a substantive NIls. It shows farming proportion of the middle class(es) was indeed recruited from farming class and and working class class origins. The percentages of new middle class

marginal middle middle class respondents with working class and farmer Kong, 39.0% and fathers low, 39.2% and 56.0% in Hong Kong, high to low, fathers are, from high 45.3% in Korea, 38.5% and 44.0% in Singapore, and 24.1% and 27.6% in Taiwan. The corresp ending figures for old Middle class respondents are corresponding 57.3% in Korea, Korea, 54.3% in Hong Kong, Kong, 53.9% in Singapore and 48.3% in Taiwan. Among the three middle class positions, the category which has the highest recruitment rate from fanning farming and working class origin is the old middle class (48.3-57.3°/o), secondly secondly is the marginal middle class (24.1-39.2°/0). Rank in (27.6-56.0°/0) and lastly new middle class (24.1-39.2°/o)lastly is the new NIEs, Taiwan appears to terms of country among the four East Asian FilEs, have the lowest percentages of middle class respondents upwardrnobiled mobiled from farming and working class positions.

Since many having "one foot" in the many middle class members are having working class family, how does this "multi-class" family phenomenon findings on affect their class identity and attitudes? Table 7 presents the findings class identity by class positions in the four NIES. In general, not only members of new middle class positions but also members of old middle class and marginal middle class positions are much more inclined to identify themselves as either upper-middle class or middle class than members of working worldng class positions. Furthermore, Furthermore, members of the lower class working class are quite conscious of dieir their working class or lower working new' middle class, 62.1% identity. In Taiwan, for example, 89.2% 89.2% of the new 62.1% of

_

the marginal class and 59.2% of the old middle class identified themselves as upper-middle upper-middle class or middle class, while only 45.4% of

the working class did the .--again

The same pattern holds in all four same. ,The

national samples, despite the contrast is not as dramatic in Singapore, whore where 46.1% 46.1% of the .working class preferred to identify themselves as ,u

upperrniddle class. middle and upper-middle ., . identification, the East Asian middle class identification, strong having While . .. ... .... middle classes - with with the exception of the Singaporeans -~ have expressed a rather strong anti-big business and pro-labor stand stand (Table 8). When asked if they would agree agree with the view that "big corporations quite a sizable members have far too much power in their society today," quite of the middle classes agreed that big business is indeed too powerful. In Korea, for instance, 87.3% of the new middle class, 83.1% of the old M

,

»"

.

The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes

Table 6A

13

(o/0) Taiwan and Korea (%) Respondents: Taiwan Origins of the Respondents: Social Origins Respondent's class Respondents

Fa£her's Father's class

Taiwan Taiwan

NMC

OMC MMC

Korea Korea

WC

NMC OMC MMC

WC

0.0

0.0

31

an 00

15 25

N mr; NMC

24.6

10.2

1'7.2 17.2

4.5

26.6

9.7

8.5

4.3

OMC OMC

21.1

31.3

28.5

21.6

21.9

24.3

27.4

20.9

MMC MMC

27.2

10.2

24.1

13.6

12.5

8.6

18.8

7.0

WC FA FA

10.1

15.3

16.6

31.3

5.7

5.9

8_5 8.5

11.3

14.0

33.0

11.0

28.4

33.3

51.4

36.8

56.5

(228) (176) (319) (176) 12984, diff == 15, P p < .05 X2 = 12934,

(192)

(185)

(117)

(115)

EM

(N) (N)

Table 6B

O6 06

0.0

0.0

X2 = 61.61, ifo f=: 15, P < .05

Social Origins Origins of the Respondents: Respondents: Hong Kong and Singapore (%) (c/0) Respondent's Re5pondent'5 class

Father's Father class

EM NMC

Hong Kong Hong

Singapore Singapore

MMC

WC we:

NMC

3.4 13.6

1.4 7.8

1.8 6.3

5.0

7.7

4.0

3.8

34.8

23.1

32.0

24.4

NMC

OMC

6.2 11.3

OMC

MMC

WC

OMC

25.8

25.4

26.2

23.0

6.0

11.5 11.5

4.0

14,1

MMC MMC

17.5

3.4

8.5

3.6

1.5.6 15.6

3.8

16.0

6.4 6.4

WC

36.1

44.1

54.6

46.2

38.7

48.7

3.1

10.2

1.4

52.3 13.1

32.7

FA

5.8

7.7

5.3

2.6

((N) N)

(97)

(591 {59}

(141)

(222)

(397)

(26)

(75) (75)

(78) (78)

*X2 2

/,

= 53.1 = 15, P < .05 53.11, 1, df =

: 24.56, if X2 = 15, P < .05 df = ==15,p-

U

LE

I I

Big corporations own too much p O wer Labor should have more political

I

>< I

56.0

I

m

% agree with the following statements

I

we 'U

(584

I. I

961

I

909

be. CI O

U09

Z' O

99%

be)

vi

I

OMC MMC to to

buzz

i

mI

9 Tf'EILII

I

I

54.3

.

92€

i

919

i

VITA

I

699

I

NMC

i

39.2

I

of p

I

Inflow rate from worldng/ farmingorigin

i

o.

Singapore

and Labor: HongKongand Singapore (%)

I

LTWp

Table 8B Subjective Identities and Attitudes towa rd Big Business 16 East Asian Middle Classes in Comparative Perspective

I

I

i

I

I

i

i

ui:

r-6

I

i

i

01

1-1

r'-I

O`\

I

i

i

i

l

The Making of the East Asian Middle Classes

17

middle class and 80.3% of the marginal middle class made such an assertion, surprisingly, their percentages are even higher than the

'inflow

response of the working class (77.5%) to the same question. In addition, when asked "whether labor should have more say in the process of making government policy," 60.3% of the new middle class said yes, compared to a slightly higher favorable response (72.5%) from the working class. Juxtaposing the rates from farming/working class origins with the percentage identifying with the working or lower class as well as the percentage being anti-big business and pro-labor oriented, there appears to be a strong correlation between the rank order of inflow rates and the percentages identifying with the working and lower class in each country. It appears to lend support to the first generation proposition, despite the patterns are not as clear with regard to the rest of the two sets of figures. in order to examine more closely the effect of farming/working class origin on middle class members' class identity and their attitudes toward labor and capital, we have used the multiple classification analysis (MCA) technique to analyze to what extent farming and working class origins have contributed to the variations of the three concerned dependent variables and the results are presented in Tables 9, 10 and 11. Table 9 shows the effect of fanning/working origin on middle class members' class identity. The eta value in the table stands for the deviation from the grand mean which ranges from 0 to 1 and means the possibility of a respondent identifying her/hiinself as working or lower class while everything given as equal. Therefore, in Taiwan, for example, 35% of

middle class members upward-mobiled

from farming/working class

origin preferred to identify Memselves as working or lower class, while only 20% of their counterparts, nainely those recruited from other

origins, did the same. Except in the MCA model for Singapore, social origin, though not a very strong determinant as we can tell from the

values of multiple R square, does have a statistically significant effect on middle class members' subjective identification with the working or lower class. In Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong, respectively, upwardmobiled middle class members are 1.75, 1.60 and 1.57 times more likely than other middle class members to identify themselves as working/ lower class. The second panel of Table 9 substitutes the simple dichotomy of "farming/working origin versus others" with more detailed break-

downs of middle class positions by social origin. It shows that the effect of upward mobility varies not only by country but also among different

middle class positions within each country. Its effect is most obvious

Class p sition

OMC OMC MMC MMC

NMC NMC

Class position

Up-m boiled OMC Up-m biled OMC Other OMC Up-m boiled MMC Up-m biled MMC Other MMC Other MMC

* Sta listically significant at the levelof .05. * Sta listically significant at the level of .05. Note: UD = Unadjusted deviation, A D Note: UD = Unadjusted deviation, AD

Multiple RE Multiple R2

Grand mean Grand mean F-value F-value

Other OMC

285 179 467

0.11 -0.04

II II

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