| k, I don't think fairness has anything to do with being Chinese, or being part of a developing country or market economy. I am American and have lived in China and the US. Many people in the US do not hesistate to buy & use pirated goods, nor do they hesistate to cheat other people. I am not sure about the "scientific" experiment of sharing money - but it seems like a sketchy research design to me . . . However, it raises interesting questions . . .does the market economy make people more "fair-minded"? If so, how do we explain why in the US there are scandals like Enron & more employers not willing to pay decent wages and benefits for employees? Why too, do people in the US not support strikes (like the supermarket workers in LA) when workers are being treated unfairly by employers trying to take away benefits? I personally, don't think it's any more fair...or necessarily less fair, for that matter. (Maybe it is differently "fair"???) Are business "networks" much different from "guanxi" and "houmen" when used to get opportunities in life? Wang Jianshuo, your concern about others is rare globally - not because you're in China or Chinese. I do agree that we need short-distance and long-distance taxi lines in both BJ and SH (well maybe not Pudong, but Hongqiao). I too feel guilty when the driver has been waiting 2 hours only to get a 20 kuai fare. |
Hello From Beijing