搜索
蚁族的中产未来justasitdifficulttodefinemiddle-classpeople,itisalsodifficulttogiveallthereasonsofthephenomenaofanttribe.butthegroupreallyexistsinbeijingpeople’slifeandbecomelargerwhenthegraduationseasonscome.beforelistingthecommoncharacteristicsofanttribegroup,iwouldliketoposesomequestionstolessthanfiveyears’collegegraduates?doyouthinkyoucanworkhardforabetterlife?doyouthinkyoucanworkhardforyourdream?mostpeoplewillsay“yes”.fromkindergartentouniversity,wearetaughttoworkhardonstudiesandifwestudyhardwemustcanhaveabetterlifeandrealizeourdream.however,itisasocietyquestiontoaccomplishteachers’andparents’promise.societyteachesus“lifeistough.”,whileschoolteachesus“lifecouldbedifferentifyouworkhard.”wehavetotrustschool,becausewecannoteasilychangethesociety.inthispaperiwouldliketogivemyanswertotheverybeginningquestion—thetitlefromthreeaspects:thefirstisthestatusquoofanttribeandcomparisonwithmiddlemanminorityinednabonacichtheory;andsecondlyhowcouldanttribeconcludesojourninglifeandenteraseeminglymiddle-classlife?;andthethirdisresourcesconcentrationandanttribe’schoice.thestatusquoofanttribethemediaisunanimousondescribingthelifeofanttribe:dwellingtogetherinbeijing’ssuburbs,collegegraduates,lowrevenue.besides,mostanttribecomefromruralareas’ordinaryfamilyandmostofthemareattheagefrom22to30,notablythe80s’.theirjobsareoftennotstable,soaretheirrentedrooms.mostofthemdopremiertechnicalandservingjobssuchasinsurancesales,electroniccomponentssales,after-salesservices,broadcastingandrestaurantsetc.anttribelifeisamagicalexperiencethatcouldcarryyoutothedreamland.therearesomanychancesinthecapitalbeijing.beforecomingtobeijing,mostgraduatesheardaboutthestorythatoneoftheirrelativeorsomenamehasaccomplishedalotinbeijingandyoucouldbebetter.thedreamingissuchalluringthatyouthoughtbeijingisthemostsuitablecityforyou,noothersatall!anttribelifeisalsoatransparentexperiencethatonecouldstoptothinkaboutisworthinessbecausemostanttribearetootiredwithlife,work,andallkindsofemotions.anttribelifeisagroupofpeoplewholivewiththefuture.alltheydoandsacrificenowisfortheirdreamingbeautifulfuture.anttribeslifeisnoteasyandevenreallyhard.amongthegroupofanttribe,therearesomegreenhandsoflifeandwork.theyjustgraduatefromcolledgeandlivetogetherinslamslikeants.andtherearealsothosewholiveinnarrowandhumidbasementlikemouse.accordingtochinadaily’sreport,“themousetribe,knownastheshuzu,arethoughttonumberabout1millionandarewellknownforlivinginsomeofthe1,374civilairdefensesheltersbeneaththecity.”besidesmousetribe,anttribementionedabove,inthisbigcitybeijing,therearealsootherkindsofpeoplewholivelikependulumclanwhocommunicatebetweencities,thoselivelikecode-copyingclanwhoarefantasticabouton-lineshopping,thoseliveaspressure-freeclanwhowanttoescapethegreatpressureofbigcity,thosewholostworkenthusiasmlikeover-drainedclanandthosewhocanlivebalancedandshininglifelikerainbowclan.comparisonwithmiddlemanminoritythetermmiddlemanminority,coinedbyhubertblalock(1967),referstominorityentrepreneurswhomediatebetweenthedominantandsubordinategroups.theircustomersaretypicallymembersofmarginalizedracialorethnicgroupsthataresegregatedfromthemajoritygroup.ednabonacich’sarticle“atheoryofmiddlemanminorities”(1973)remainstheseminalworkonthetopic.bonacichoffersanexplanationforthedevelopmentandpersistenceofmiddlemanminoritiesasminoritygroupsservinganintermediarypositionbetweenthemajoritygroupandothersegregatedminoritygroups.shenotesseveralcommonalitiesamongvariousmiddlemangroups(e.g.,armenians,indians,chinese,japanese,andjews)inselectedoccupations(e.g.,bankers,barbers,brokers,launderers,andrestaurateurs).akeycharacteristicforbonacichisthetendencyofmiddlemanminoritiestobesojourners—peoplewhointendtoreturntotheircountryoforigin.becausetheyaresojournersandtheirmigrationiseconomicallydriven,middlemanminoritiesarethriftywhileamassingcapital.moreover,theymaintainstrongtieswiththeircompatriotsinthehostandorigincountrieswhileremainingdetachedfromthehostsociety.inshort,middlemanminoritieshavelittleincentivetodeveloptiestothehostsociety.furthermore,theytendtowardbusinessesinwhichassetsarequicklyaccumulatedandliquidated.duetotheirsojournerstatusandtheirstrongin-groupties,middlemanminoritiesdevelopacompetitivebusinessedge.inparticular,theseentrepreneursminimizetheirlaborcoststhroughtheirrelianceonfamilymembersandfellowethnicworkerswillingtoworklonghoursforlittlepay.thesecircumstancesallowmiddlemanminoritiestoestablishpositionsofeconomicdominance.theirsuccessplacesmiddlemanminoritiesinconflictwithdifferentsectorsofthehostsociety.entrepreneursfromothergroupscannotreadilycompetewiththemiddlemanminorities’cheaplabor.also,workersinthemainstreamlaborforceviewtheworkforceofmiddlemanminoritiesasathreattotheirownabilitytonegotiatehigherwagesandbetterworkingconditions.finally,theminorityclienteleofmiddlemanminoritiesresentthemfornothiringmembersoftheirgroupandfornotbeingvestedintheircommunities.consequently,theirsuccessasentrepreneurscreatesaparadox.middlemanminoritiessometimesabandontheirintentionstoreturntotheircountryoforigin,transitionin