Inter-Asia Cultural Studies: Movements

 

回首页

About IACS

Current Issue

Back Issues

Visual essays

IACS Project

Events

Links

Archives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  » Issue contents  2020-12-28 The gyroscope-like economy
The gyroscope-like economy: hypermobility, structural imbalance and pandemic governance in China
XIANG Biao
  
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic urges us to rethink the analytical relations between China, Asia and other parts of the world. Many of what had appeared to be “Chinese characteristics” at the early stage of the outbreak turned out to be common phenomena worldwide. Apparently minor differences, such as the penetration rate of e-commerce, matter a great deal. This essay contributes to this intellectual remapping by proposing two arguments. First, the essay aims to explain the similar governmental reactions in China and other parts of the world—the initial reluctance followed by drastic lockdown—by pointing to the “gyroscope-economy” model that dominates many societies. The economy is structurally imbalanced and has thus become exceedingly dependent on the movements of people, goods and capital, much like a gyroscope, which cannot balance unless spun fast. Second, the essay examines several Chinese-specific characteristics of the gyroscope-like economy, namely the broad-based participation and the high growth rate coupled with low welfare provisions, competitiveness and precariousness. These features are attributable to a combination of hypermobility and authoritarianism. The pandemic may intertwine the two more deeply, in China and beyond. 
 
KEYWORDS: Authoritarian governance; logistics; casualization; de-materialization; mobility-concentration nexus
  
Notes on contributor
 
    

About Us

Subscribe

Notes for contributors

Vol 24.6

24.6 visual essay

Vol 1-10

Vol 11-20

Vol 21-

Vol 10-15 visual essay

Vol 16-20 visual essay

Vol 21- visual essay

IACS Society

Consortium of IACS Institutions

Related Publications

IACS Conferences

A Chronology

About Us

Subscribe

Notes for contributors

Vol 24.6

24.6 visual essay

Vol 1-10

Vol 11-20

Vol 21-

Vol 10-15 visual essay

Vol 16-20 visual essay

Vol 21- visual essay

IACS Society

Consortium of IACS Institutions

Related Publications

IACS Conferences

A Chronology