For book clubs seeking works that spark substantive dialogue, expand global perspectives, and interrogate assumptions surrounding modernization and reform, Poverty and Pacification offers exceptional value.
In this groundbreaking analysis, Solinger uncovers a hidden human cost behind China’s dramatic economic rise. While reform and WTO accession were celebrated internationally, millions of lifetime urban workers—primarily middle-aged—were abruptly laid off from failing state enterprises.
The central question reverberates powerfully:
What happens to those rendered unnecessary by systemic change?
Why It’s Ideal for Group Discussion
1️⃣ It Makes Economics Personal Through rich interviews, Solinger transforms policy into lived experience, inviting empathy and nuanced reflection.
2️⃣ It Questions the Growth Narrative Beyond prosperity statistics, this book reveals the social toll of reform, opening space for conversation about equity and political sustainability.
3️⃣ It Highlights Dibao’s Dual Role China’s Minimum Livelihood Guarantee addressed poverty while preserving stability. It prompts debate:
Is welfare supportive or strategic?
How do states protect reform without unrest?
What global parallels exist?
4️⃣ It Feels Timely With automation and economic restructuring worldwide, its themes resonate universally:
Job loss
Economic vulnerability
Poverty politics
Aging workforce invisibility
Questions to Drive Discussion
Can modernization justify generational sacrifice?
Are welfare systems relief mechanisms or pacification tools?
What responsibilities accompany economic restructuring?
How should governments respond to broken lifetime guarantees?
In this groundbreaking analysis, Solinger uncovers a hidden human cost behind China’s dramatic economic rise. While reform and WTO accession were celebrated internationally, millions of lifetime urban workers—primarily middle-aged—were abruptly laid off from failing state enterprises.
The central question reverberates powerfully:
What happens to those rendered unnecessary by systemic change?
Why It’s Ideal for Group Discussion
1️⃣ It Makes Economics Personal
Through rich interviews, Solinger transforms policy into lived experience, inviting empathy and nuanced reflection.
2️⃣ It Questions the Growth Narrative
Beyond prosperity statistics, this book reveals the social toll of reform, opening space for conversation about equity and political sustainability.
3️⃣ It Highlights Dibao’s Dual Role
China’s Minimum Livelihood Guarantee addressed poverty while preserving stability. It prompts debate:
Is welfare supportive or strategic?
How do states protect reform without unrest?
What global parallels exist?
4️⃣ It Feels Timely
With automation and economic restructuring worldwide, its themes resonate universally:
Job loss
Economic vulnerability
Poverty politics
Aging workforce invisibility
Questions to Drive Discussion
Can modernization justify generational sacrifice?
Are welfare systems relief mechanisms or pacification tools?
What responsibilities accompany economic restructuring?
How should governments respond to broken lifetime guarantees?
Best Fit For Clubs Focused On:
Global governance
Inequality
Asian regional studies
Labor history
Social justice
Public policy
Selecting this title affirms your club’s commitment to thoughtful, globally conscious engagement.
Poverty and Pacification: The Chinese State Abandons the Old Working Class
Dorothy J. Solinger