The Labor of Reinvention: Entrepreneurship in the New Chinese Digital Economy

The rise of internet-based entrepreneurship in China has had a significant impact on society, reinforcing traditional Chinese ideas about state power, labor, gender, and identity. Lin Zhang's book explores how the everyday labor of entrepreneurial reinvention is remaking China amid changing geopolitical currents, highlighting the empowerment and exploitation of digital entrepreneurs and laborers. It sheds new light on global capitalism and the digital economy from a non-Western perspective.

Format: Hardback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 07 March 2023
Publisher: Columbia University Press

The rise of internet-based entrepreneurship has had a profound impact on every aspect of China, from start-up founders in the country's equivalent of Silicon Valley to rural villages experiencing a surge in e-commerce to middle-class women reselling luxury goods. For many individuals, reinventing oneself as an entrepreneur has become an attractive means of adapting to the changing economic and social landscape. However, the reality of digital entrepreneurship has also reinforced traditional Chinese notions about state power, labor, gender, and identity.

In her book "The Labor of Reinvention," Lin Zhang delves into the ways in which the everyday labor of entrepreneurial reinvention is reshaping China amidst evolving geopolitical currents. Through rich narratives that showcase the experiences of people from diverse class, gender, and age backgrounds across rural, urban, and transnational settings, Zhang provides a multifaceted and ground-level perspective of the twenty-first-century Chinese economy.

Zhang explores the rise of digital entrepreneurialism in the context of global financial crises, the U.S.-China trade war, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She argues that the growth of internet-based industries and practices has simultaneously empowered and exploited digital entrepreneurs and laborers. Despite embracing high-tech innovation, state-led entrepreneurialization in China does not represent a radical break from the past. Instead, it has provided a means for implementing developmental goals while retaining the importance of the traditional family and generating new inequalities.

By centering a non-Western perspective, "The Labor of Reinvention" sheds new light on global capitalism and the digital economy. It vividly conveys how the contradictions of entrepreneurialism have played out in China, highlighting the complex interplay between tradition, modernity, and economic development.

Through her compelling storytelling, Zhang offers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by digital entrepreneurs and laborers in China. She challenges the notion that entrepreneurialism is solely a Western phenomenon and demonstrates how it has taken root
root in China, driven by a combination of government policies, technological advancements, and social changes.

In conclusion, "The Labor of Reinvention" is a thought-provoking and insightful book that provides a valuable contribution to the study of entrepreneurship, economics, and China. By exploring the ways in which the everyday labor of entrepreneurial reinvention is reshaping China, Zhang offers a fresh perspective on the complex dynamics of global capitalism and the digital economy. Her book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship and its impact on society.

Weight: 558g
Dimension: 513 x 159 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231195300