Comments on: The Inefficiencies in the Chinese Working Class http://www.thechinaexpat.com/the-inefficiencies-in-the-chinese-working-class/ Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:45:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 By: Slick http://www.thechinaexpat.com/the-inefficiencies-in-the-chinese-working-class/comment-page-1/#comment-2358 Slick Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:42:51 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/the-inefficiencies-in-the-chinese-working-class/#comment-2358 As other articles on this blog point out, there are few career advancement opportunities available. What is the motivation for doing more work if not in order to advance or receive more pay? Contrary to the marxist creed "from each according to ability, to each according to need", the old communist motto "we pretend to work, you pretend to pay us" prevails. As other articles on this blog point out, there are few career advancement opportunities available. What is the motivation for doing more work if not in order to advance or receive more pay?

Contrary to the marxist creed “from each according to ability, to each according to need”, the old communist motto “we pretend to work, you pretend to pay us” prevails.

]]> By: Ben http://www.thechinaexpat.com/the-inefficiencies-in-the-chinese-working-class/comment-page-1/#comment-2357 Ben Mon, 28 May 2007 17:14:54 +0000 http://www.thechinaexpat.com/the-inefficiencies-in-the-chinese-working-class/#comment-2357 Great article in response to my article! Thanks for expounding on some of the points I was trying to make. Now I'd like to make some comments on your article in response to my article....Although I think the system (long hours, all full time, lots of time wasted) is a difficult cycle to break, I definitely do not believe that this is a particularly good cycle. It often bothers me to think how much of people's lives are wasted every day in China. Figure that everybody in my shop wastes about 4 hours of their life (a conservative estimate) every day doing nothing, and that translates into over 1200 hours per year...that's 48 full 24 hour days! Think if that time were spent in continued education, devoted to family time, or even working an assembly line. In terms of your argument about the labor force, I have to disagree. Yes, college students are looking for jobs, but they are not interested in jobs in barber shops. A barber shop (as well as most service industry jobs) are typically worked by people with only middle school (maybe some zhong zhuan) education. A college student would typically not work in such an environment because they have already ascended past this social boundary, and going back would cause significant loss of face. This of course, in the West is totally different, where some of the lowest jobs available are worked by college students. Great article in response to my article! Thanks for expounding on some of the points I was trying to make. Now I’d like to make some comments on your article in response to my article….Although I think the system (long hours, all full time, lots of time wasted) is a difficult cycle to break, I definitely do not believe that this is a particularly good cycle. It often bothers me to think how much of people’s lives are wasted every day in China. Figure that everybody in my shop wastes about 4 hours of their life (a conservative estimate) every day doing nothing, and that translates into over 1200 hours per year…that’s 48 full 24 hour days! Think if that time were spent in continued education, devoted to family time, or even working an assembly line.

In terms of your argument about the labor force, I have to disagree. Yes, college students are looking for jobs, but they are not interested in jobs in barber shops. A barber shop (as well as most service industry jobs) are typically worked by people with only middle school (maybe some zhong zhuan) education. A college student would typically not work in such an environment because they have already ascended past this social boundary, and going back would cause significant loss of face. This of course, in the West is totally different, where some of the lowest jobs available are worked by college students.

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