Danilova, Elena. Actual and perceptual social inequality under transformative change in Russia and China. Europe-Asia Studies 69, no. 1 (January 2017). 30-59.

Abstract

The article aims at comparing social inequality in Russia and China and how it is perceived by the urbanpopulation. The study from which evidence is drawn was conducted through a common methodology of representative surveys of the adult population in two big cities—Shanghai and St Petersburg. The investigationshows that although people in Russia and China have broadly egalitarian attitudes, there are significantdifferences in the way in which Russians and Chinese regard the current system of distribution. Attitudesto social inequality are much more complicated than a direct link with the objective social situation wouldsuggest. Egalitarian attitudes are connected not only with the actual incomes but they are very powerfullyaffected by subjective assessments of the distributive system. The essay argues that behind a tendency towardsthe convergence of political regimes in the two countries at the present time there are different patterns of legitimacy based not only on economic achievement but also on the attitudes of the population, which the ruling elites use in seeking to strengthen their monopoly.

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