ABSTRACT
Rooted in but not limited to homeownership and gated-community residency, the formation of two middle-class groups has illustrated key driving forces that shape social stratification in a socialist market economy. There are key mechanisms through which privileged social groups take advantage of both market competition and socialist redistribution in a hybrid economy, including redistributive resources, institutions, and group membership. Going beyond the conventional approach of social-inequality research that compares differences between social groups, this study lays special emphasis on differences between middle-class groups. By examining the dynamics of their social mobility, it is clear that there are two middle-class groups among whom there is a gradation of income, associated with different access to resources. The analysis has revealed a dichotomy of the “within the system” and the “outside the system” among the Chinese urban middle class. This 140dichotomy highlights the essential features that not only contour the concept of the Chinese middle class, but also interprets in what way the middle class exerts impacts on social and political life in China today.
