Quick questions on The emerging middle class explained: H2 China Studies

One of the most consequential social changes of the reform era is the emergence of a large urban middle class where almost none existed under Mao. Decades of growth created hundreds of millions of people with rising incomes, white-collar and professional jobs, property ownership, university education, savings, and the consumption patterns, cars, foreign travel, branded goods, of a middle-income society. This middle class is concentrated in the cities, especially the prosperous coast, and is the social face of China's transformation into a consumer economy. Its existence is central to the question of China's political future.

The reason the middle class is politically interesting is the prediction of modernisation theory, a long-standing strand of social science. It holds that as societies grow richer and more educated, a middle class arises that comes to demand political rights, the rule of law, accountability and ultimately democracy, because such people value autonomy, want to protect their property and interests through law, and resent arbitrary power. On this theory, China's economic success should eventually generate irresistible pressure for political liberalisation, the middle class becoming the engine of democratisation, as arguably happened in South Korea and Taiwan. The central question is whether China conforms to this pattern.

State the prediction of modernisation theory about the middle class. [4 marks]

Explain why China's middle class has largely supported the regime. [12 marks]

"China's middle class will remain a force for stability." How far do you agree? [20 marks]