VERS UNE « SOCIÉTÉ HARMONIEUSE » DE CONSOMMATION ? Discours et spectacle de l'harmonie sociale dans la construction d'une Chine “civilisée” (1978-2008)

摘要

Chinese society in the beginning of this twenty-first century is undermined by growing socioeconomic and regional inequalities, as China has been disrupted by the reforms launched by Deng Xiaoping since 1978, by the transition from a planned economy to a market economy and by the expansion of a mass consumer society. The discourse of « harmonious society » (hexie shehui 和谐社会), an official program introduced by President Hu Jintao in 2005, took place in this particular context to pacify social unrests. This dissertation aims to dismantle the strategies used by the « harmonious society » and to reveal that this discourse advocates social harmony not by resolving social inequities but by accepting them. Hexie shehui is part of a larger and earlier civilizing process of Chinese underprivileged population, since it appears to be a tool to control and discipline the poor and offers ethics response to social issues. We will see, finally, how this « harmonious society » also targets to design a spectacular “civilised” China and the way this spectacle is the core of this program.