Comments on: The emperor did care about the well-being of the peasants http://www.froginawell.net/china/2007/11/the-emperor-did-care-about-the-well-being-of-the-peasants/ The China History Group Blog Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:40:25 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Alan Baumler http://www.froginawell.net/china/2007/11/the-emperor-did-care-about-the-well-being-of-the-peasants/comment-page-1/#comment-74095 Alan Baumler Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:27:16 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/china/2007/11/the-emperor-did-care-about-the-well-being-of-the-peasants/#comment-74095 Jonathan, I'm not sure how useful it is either, but they are at least playing with the idea that what matters (in the sense of creating unrest) is not inequality as such but the amount of possible inequality that is being turned into real inequality. They are a bit too social-science-y for me in their apparent assumption that you can draw a straight line from economic inequality to unrest. Still, it does seem to be a confirmation that Chinese state attempts to avoid emergence of a hyper-rich elite were working. Of course that might go away with better data, but given that the authors are all people at institutions with way more money than mine maybe they will keep up with this and end up with something good. Jonathan,

I’m not sure how useful it is either, but they are at least playing with the idea that what matters (in the sense of creating unrest) is not inequality as such but the amount of possible inequality that is being turned into real inequality. They are a bit too social-science-y for me in their apparent assumption that you can draw a straight line from economic inequality to unrest. Still, it does seem to be a confirmation that Chinese state attempts to avoid emergence of a hyper-rich elite were working. Of course that might go away with better data, but given that the authors are all people at institutions with way more money than mine maybe they will keep up with this and end up with something good.

]]> By: Jonathan Dresner http://www.froginawell.net/china/2007/11/the-emperor-did-care-about-the-well-being-of-the-peasants/comment-page-1/#comment-74018 Jonathan Dresner Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:52:02 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/china/2007/11/the-emperor-did-care-about-the-well-being-of-the-peasants/#comment-74018 The 1880s would seem to be a pretty lousy choice for a representative sample of Chinese economic structures. Aside from the fact that economic distributions vary widely geographically, the disruptions of the 1840s-1870s did an awful lot of downward redistribution.... I really am having trouble figuring out what the point of comparing all these different societies at different times. I just don't get it, and the problems with data quality? The 1880s would seem to be a pretty lousy choice for a representative sample of Chinese economic structures. Aside from the fact that economic distributions vary widely geographically, the disruptions of the 1840s-1870s did an awful lot of downward redistribution….

I really am having trouble figuring out what the point of comparing all these different societies at different times. I just don’t get it, and the problems with data quality?

]]> By: Guest http://www.froginawell.net/china/2007/11/the-emperor-did-care-about-the-well-being-of-the-peasants/comment-page-1/#comment-73975 Guest Thu, 08 Nov 2007 18:49:54 +0000 http://www.froginawell.net/china/2007/11/the-emperor-did-care-about-the-well-being-of-the-peasants/#comment-73975 An interesting idea. Unfortunately the China figure is quite close to that of the Kingdom of Naples in 1811, which an excellent example of a society dominated by an often absentee landowning elite which extracts large amounts of wealth from the rural population, which does raise some questio ns. Similarly, the highly regulated and ideosyncratic nature of property ownership and wealth in colonial latin america makes it something of a quique case. An interesting idea. Unfortunately the China figure is quite close to that of the Kingdom of Naples in 1811, which an excellent example of a society dominated by an often absentee landowning elite which extracts large amounts of wealth from the rural population, which does raise some questio ns.
Similarly, the highly regulated and ideosyncratic nature of property ownership and wealth in colonial latin america makes it something of a quique case.

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