The Capitalist Personality in China, Russia, and Eastern Germany

On May, 24th, 2012, Christopher Swader presented him report during the regular seminar of LCSR.

On May, 24th, 2012, Christopher Swader, Senior Research Fellow at the LCSR gave a talk on the topic “The Capitalist Personality: Transformation to a Market Economy and Changing Social Values in China, Russia, and Eastern Germany”.

Download Presentation | Watching Seminar On-Line

The study aims to explore the mechanisms that drive changes in social values, or those values emphasizing relationships, intimate bonds, and families, in the new market economies of Russia, China, and Eastern Germany. In the focus of his analysis was the Capitalist Personality.

First of all, the author defined what he meant by “capitalism” and “value”. In his opinion, the main features of capitalism are free-market economy, private property, and profit orientations. At the same time he was underlining that he is focusing on consumption and work (everyday life). As he said it allowed him to name China “capitalist”. He defined values as general beliefs used to prioritize behavior. Author’s hypothesis was that tensions between social values and individualism, materialism, and calculative rationality have arisen as a result of the transformation to a free-market economy. For the analysis China, Russia, and Eastern Germany were chosen because these countries have socialist period in their history, and these cases are different as much as possible (different transition conditions and speed: slow growth, rapid collapse, colonial stagnation). Chris Swader used such methods as semi-structured qualitative interviews with new-rich businessmen and their fathers in Moscow, Shanghai, and Leipzig and quantitative analysis of World Values Survey data (4 waves from 2000, 1995, 1990, 2005) in his survey.

Findings of the study substantiate the role of cognitive adaptation, cognitive dissonance, ideological conflict, and intergenerational changeover as mechanisms through which individuals’ values tend toward de-intimization as a latent effect of their adoption of the following ‘tools of success’ critical to the core of capitalist market culture: profit calculation, commoditized time, instrumentalization of relationships, image cultivation, personal ambitions and independence, enhanced work focus, tolerance to failure, and moral flexibility.

Report aroused great interest of the public. There were many questions clarifying the results and many came up with proposals for the development of this study.

By Anita Moiseeva