Urban Hysteresis and Anti-Left Sentiments in Asia: Beyond the Global Middle-Class Thesis

亞洲的都市遲滯現象與反左派情緒：一個超越全球中產階級的論述

尹智煥(Ji-whan Yun)

《台灣政治學刊》 21卷1期 (2017/06) Pp. 219-259

https://doi.org/10.6683/TPSR.201706.21(1).219-259

摘要

This paper explores why anti-left sentiments have recently emerged in some Asian cities and, in particular, why urban middle classes have frequently, if not persistently, protested against the socioeconomic reforms of new left governments. The global middle-class thesis ascribes the emergence of anti-left sentiments to the liberal-democratic ideology and conservative values of the affluent middle classes. However, this paper does not characterize these anti-left sentiments as ideological or value-driven conflicts. Alternatively, this paper argues that this phenomenon has stemmed from the immediate reactions, or hysteresis, of the middle classes to the critical instability that the new left governments have caused in their taken-for-granted lifestyles in unique urban spaces. To corroborate the argument, this paper compares the cases of the most contentious middle classes in three East and Southeast Asian countries, including Japan’s wage earners or salarymen, South Korea’s self-employed, and Thailand’s urban professionals.

關鍵字

anti-left sentiments ； urban hysteresis ； Japan ； South Korea ； Thailand

並列摘要

本文旨在探索為何最近有些亞洲城市開始興起反左派的情緒？特別是為何都市中的中產階級頻繁地抗議新左派政府的社會經濟改革。全球中產階級理論將反左派情緒之興起歸咎於自由民主的意識形態，以及富裕中產階級的保守價值。本文認為這樣的現象並非意識形態或是價值所驅動的衝突，而是新左派政府在特定都市空間中，對於中產階級視為理所當然的生活型態造成衝擊，導致後者對於不穩定之立即回應或是所謂的遲滯現象。為了證實這個主張，本文比較了三個亞洲國家中最具爭議性的中產階級個案，包含日本的受薪階級，南韓的自由業人士，以及泰國的都市專業人士。

並列關鍵字

反左派情緒 ； 都市遲滯現象 ； 日本 ； 南韓 ； 泰國

參考文獻

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