Beyond Organized Dependence: The Impact of the Market Economy on the Role of Intellectuals

Abstract

In the last chapter, I suggested that Chinese intellectuals have become more critical and more aware of the importance of professional autonomy and intellectual independence in the post-Mao era. Nonetheless, I have also highlighted the fact that though intellectuals in the mainland are growing more vocal and are sometimes bold enough to criticize the existing regime, they have not yet entirely eschewed their dependence upon their patrons. Being constrained by their social locations, coupled with the unique socio-political context in which they live, intellectuals must pay due attention to the ‘political climate’ and calculate the cost when adopting different strategies in response to changing political contexts. Being not totally socially and economically autonomous, intellectuals in the mainland have failed to unite as a ‘New Class’ as Konrad and Szelenyi proposed.