Post-Materialist Development in Rural China: “Beautiful Countryside” Construction and the Case of Zhejiang

Abstract After 40 years of reform and opening-up, it appears that some new development concepts are emerging in China. We argue that while the Chinese government continues to pursue economic development, it is also engaging in some post-materialist practices in the areas of environmental protection, cultural development, and political participation. The Chinese authorities are exploring the establishment of Zhejiang Province as a model for rural development by facilitating the adoption of a post-materialist governance path. Post-materialist development in China is, however, very different from its Western counterpart. On account of its collectivist, rather than liberal, ideology, the CCP ’s idea of post-materialist development consists of party-state environmentalism, “red culturalism,” and participatory authoritarianism. We carried out field research in Caocun Town in Zhejiang Province. The “digital village” scheme promoted by the town is an example of post-materialism with Chinese characteristics. However, we emphasize that China’s development strategy has not completely shifted to one of post-materialism. The Zhejiang case is merely an experiment which could point the way to a new ideology and new development policies in the future.