Yesterday was May First, International Labor Day. China celebrates international workers by taking a week off (May 1-7). In fact, we only get three actual days vacation. In order to make up the extra two days, we work the weekend before our long vacation. So work a seven-day week, then play for seven days. These adjustments can be somewhat jarring to those accustomed to weekends always off. More importantly, however, not everyone is off. Migrant laborers are still at work, serving those who have time off. May Day it seems now celebrates white collar workers, who take vacations with their families. This rather banal insight bears repeating. May Day has become a time when office workers and middle management rest from their labors, signalling the shift from socialist to neo-liberal values in the People’s Republic.

I am not the only one to notice or even comment on this shift. Indeed, tracking the transformation of Maoism has become one of the hot topics throughout academia. That’s why it’s important to note that this process has meaning both inside and outside the PRC. It’s not about the Chinese, but about how all of us live together. What does it mean to think globally and act locally? What kind of world might that be? Just recently a Chinese academic told me that various cultural bureaus now encourage the study of Western, rather than Eastern, Marxism. Apparently, there’s much to learn from those who theorize Revolution; less to learn from those who tried it. A sobering thought as I head off on vacation.

shenzhen