Corporate-Run Society: The Practice of the Danwei System in Beijing during the Planned Economy Period

The danwei system is one of the most important institutional arrangements in the Chinese planned economy era (1950s–1970s). It also offers a clue to understanding China’s urban transformation since the economic reform. This paper aims to explore the spatial prototype of the danwei system and understand the internal logic for the operation of this system by conducting a case study of the danwei compound of the Beijing No. 2 Textile Factory. Focusing on the obligation of the factory to run social welfare services, the danwei system formed a so-called “corporate-run society”. A sustainable mechanism for production and reproduction is conceptually portrayed. The institutional practice of the danwei system is understood as a process that is in accordance with socialist constructions, the public ownership system, and state socialism. This paper argues that it is necessary to reconfigure the legacies of the danwei system and explore its implications for contemporary Chinese society.

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