The notion of "quality" (suzhi) has become a cultural determination of the value form of labor in China's economic reforms, marking the divide between mental and manual labor. As a specifically Chinese articulation of the concept of human capital, suzhi must be understood within the frame of the global economy. In addition, an accounting of its working in the Chinese context offers a critical perspective on new conceptions of value circulating globally.
Ann Anagnost teaches anthropology at the University of Washington. She is the author of "National Pastimes: Narrative, Representation, and Power in Modern China" (Duke University Press, 1997). Her presentation comes from her forthcoming book entitled "Embodiments of Value in China's Economic Reform" (Duke University Press).
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