Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
8-2024
Abstract
We propose that post-productivism offers a useful analytical framework for understanding the multi-scalar and diverse changes that are taking place in China’s rural revitalization. As a theoretical framework that emerged from the study of rural changes in the Global North, the applicability of post-productivism in the Global South has been contested. This paper offers the first comprehensive analysis of the emergence of post-productivism in rural China and uses post-productivism as a framework to conceptualize a wide range of changes in China’s rural revitalization. We conceptually clarify the driving forces that give rise to post-productivism and the outcomes these drivers produce. The two key drivers of post-productivism in China have been: 1) discontents with productivist agriculture from the state, urban consumers, and rural communities, which manifested in a shift in government’s policy priority from agricultural production to ecological restoration, urban consumers’ demands for “quality food”, and rural producers’ demands for a “quality life”, and 2) urbanites’ desire to experience the rural idyll, which translated into demands on rural space for urban consumption. We use seven representative cases to illustrate the various types of post-productivism that the two drivers have generated in rural China. These cases underscore that the transition to post-productivism is a key characteristic of China’s rural revitalization.
Keywords
Post-productivism, Rural revitalization, Rural restructuring, Productivist agriculture, Sustainability, Rural space
Discipline
Agribusiness | Asian Studies | Rural Sociology
Research Areas
Sociology
Areas of Excellence
Growth in Asia
Publication
Journal of Rural Studies
Volume
110
First Page
1
Last Page
14
ISSN
0743-0167
Identifier
10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103382
Publisher
Elsevier
Citation
WU, Meiling, ZHANG, Qian Forrest, & DONALDSON, John A..(2024). Post-productivism and rural revitalization in China: Drivers and outcomes. Journal of Rural Studies, 110, 1-14.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3969
Copyright Owner and License
Author-CC-BY-NC
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2024.103382