ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an account of such shifts in inequality and stratif cation in one north China village since the rural reform. It examines changes in economic position, political power, and social status, that is, the three major dimensions of social stratif cation. The chapter begins with the general background of survey and describes the status groups in the previous hierarchy of the collectives. It draws on information gathered during fieldwork in north China between January and May 1989. The chapter focuses on the overall economic position of every household in Xiajia village, instead of peasant income alone for several reasons. A counter-interpretation was offered recently by Victor Nee, who has extended Szelenyi’s analysis of economic reforms in Hungary. The argument is that a transition from redistributive to market coordination shifts sources of power and privilege in favour of direct producers rather than redistributors.
