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The Dialectics of Chinese Labor examines China’s trade union adaptation to the changing demands of the working class. For nearly 50 years, market socialism is transforming China from a rural to an urban economy, posing significant challenges to China’s trade union federation (ACFTU). The labor federation has skilfully reshaped its organizing strategies to respond to workers’ new material realities. This book counters the monolithic position that devalues ACFTU by using direct evidence to reveal its commitment and determination to improve wages and working conditions across the industrial, service, digital and rural sectors of the Chinese economy.
Price: $27.00
Pages: 244
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Studies in Political Economy of Global Labor and Work
Publication Date:
May 28, 2026
ISBN: 9789004765580
Format: Paperback
"Ness’ volume is a valuable antidote to Western labor scholars who believe that Western trade union movements have historically represented the pinnacle of trade union achievement. Since the author analyzes the Western trade unions’ problems with their current revitalization efforts, perhaps some lessons can be learned from Chinese labor’s recent experiences and be applied to Western trade unions. The objective, of course, is the emancipation of labor. Global South labor scholars, such as Immanuel Ness and Marcel van der Linden, have provided path-breaking scholarly work which might help inspire the revival of Western trade unionism. We should celebrate their efforts."
- Victor G. Devinatz, Illinois State University, in: Labor Studies Journal, 1/3 (2026) [DOI: 10.1177/0160449X261480229]
- Victor G. Devinatz, Illinois State University, in: Labor Studies Journal, 1/3 (2026) [DOI: 10.1177/0160449X261480229]
Immanuel Ness, PhD, is Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York and Visiting Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg. His books, academic articles and edited volumes focus on workers, trade unions and labor movements, migration, and economic imperialism. He is the author of eight books, including Migration as Economic Imperialism (Polity, 2023). Ness is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Labor and Society, a peer-reviewed academic journal of global labour and social movements.