Based on data gathered in 2008-09, including interviews in Tianjin, this paper tells the story of the recent rapid and very widespread establishment of ‘charity supermarkets’ in China’s cities. These charity shops, which were initially modelled after certain ‘thrift shops’ in the U.S., were set up for the purpose of assisting the urban poor and unemployed in meeting basic needs. Divergent contemporary discourses in China about poverty, charity, and business, and about the proper roles of the market and the state in the delivery of social welfare are explored and contrasted. The differing discourses and perspectives that are revealed throw interesting light on why China’s ‘charity supermarkets’ have not, so far, been able to develop well. This particular, not very satisfactory, social experiment is presented as a case study in the potential for achieving effective ‘mutual empowerment’ of state and society in the contemporary Chinese context.

This event has been recorded and is available at the following URL: http://backdoorbroadcasting.net/2010/04/vivienne-shue-small-mercies-povertycharity-statemarket-and-the-provision-of-social-welfare-in-urban-china/