000			01638pab a2200193 454500
008			180718b2005 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aTsai, Kellee S.
245			_aCapitalists without a class: political diversity among private entrepreneurs in China
260			_c2005
300			_ap.1130-158.
362			_aNov
520			_aThis article questions predictions about China's democratic potential based on rising incomes in the private sector. For private entrepreneurs to constitute a democratizing force, structural theories expect two casual links: first, class formation; and second, collective action. This article examines national surveys of business owners, proposes a typology of entrepreneurs' political behavior, and concludes that class formation has not occurred among private entrepreneurs. The absence of a common basis for identity and interaction challenges the hypothesis that China's new capitalists might engage in collective action to demand democracy. Entrepreneurs should, thus, be examined at a lower level of abstraction rather than lumped into a catchall capitalist "middle class". Taking into account the employment background, social networks, and local political conditions of people in apparently similarly situated groups is essential for explaining political dynamics in transitional contexts where the identities and interests of new economic actors are mediated by prereform experiences. -Reproduced.
650			_aDemocracy - China
650			_aEntrepreneurs - China
650			_aCapitalism - China
650			_aCapitalism
773			_aComparative Political Studies
909			_a67857
999			_c67857 _d67857