Sylvie Démurger: Discussions about the social consequences of China's rapid economic growth are gaining momentum, in particular in a context where the need to maintain growth prospects is becoming particularly stringent. John Knight's paper proposes a welcome summary that tackles some important dimensions of the issue. The overall argument defended is the following: The societal cost of China's rapid economic growth has been imposed by the overriding pursuit of economic growth to the neglect of other objectives, and by a system of governance characterized by economic decentralization and a semi-marketized economy, which has failed to provide sufficient accountability. The identified societal costs take the form of stagnating levels of life satisfaction and of growing expressions of social discontent.
The author makes an interesting point in highlighting the failure of life satisfaction to rise over the recent decades and the concomitant rise in indicators of social instability. Yet, by focusing on...