|
China |
|
© Andy Palmer
|
|
As the shift in the political system continues to be driven by the influence of Western Capitalism, so the gulf widens between those who have, and those who do not. Whilst I am sure that very few people in China would express a wish to return to the years of Mao, the rapid economic growth is not taking place without creating casualties.
Having reached the heady heights of consumerism, fortunate Chinese, influenced by slick advertising campaigns, shop in the luxurious Jianguomenwai and Sanlitan areas (the latter housing the Lufthansa Centre, Beijing's first multi storey shopping mall), affording all the trappings of a modern capitalist society. However, this is not a capitalist society, at least not yet. As Berger has stated, 'the choice of what one eats (or wears or drives) takes the place of significant political choice'. Their transition may be en route, but has yet to reach its final destination, and within only a few kilometres of these wealthy areas lay the Hutongs of central Beijing and a little further, the squalor of shanty dwellings that are now appearing on the periphery of the city. It is here that the hardship, poverty and everyday struggle for existence is apparent and far removed from the comfortable imagery generated by the tourist industry of which we are accustomed.
Having been freed from Maoism and heavily influenced by a Western iconography, these industrious people are striving towards their destiny. In the wake of a traditional and egalitarian past and faced with an unpredictable future, their fight is not simply one of survival, but one which is fundamental in forming their own identity as they struggle to reconcile their Confucian traditions and communism, with the nationalism of their modernity.
|
|
|
|
