ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses and analyses the trend of state expansion and development in Hong Kong since 1945, the rise of privatization politics, and the emergence of the collective consumption cleavage, focusing on the development of both the state and the society itself as well as their dynamic relationship. It examines the phases of the development of the colonial administration and its relations with the society of Hong Kong since the post-war period. The chapter explores the generally accepted view of "positive non-interventionism", the expansion of the Hong Kong state in terms of both structural and functional aspects. It investigates the reasons for and impact of privatization of the social service programmes on the state-society relations as a whole and on electoral politics. Since the mid-1980s, the Hong Kong government has tried to privatize some of its social services programmes like housing.