This research introduces China into the flourishing tradition of empirical study concerning social norms on economic inequality. Based on data analysis of restricted urban samples from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) 2005, two competing theories on the confounding effect of education were compared; ideological cleavages within a post-Communist regime were demonstrated; and the intrinsic association between actual and legitimate inequality as mediated by people’s perception of reality was examined. Consistent empirical evidence from multivariate regression as well as multilevel modeling suggests three main conclusions. First, the perception of inequality plays a key adjustment role in identifying the enlightenment aspect beyond the self-interest effect of education. The social env...[ Read more ]

This research introduces China into the flourishing tradition of empirical study concerning social norms on economic inequality. Based on data analysis of restricted urban samples from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) 2005, two competing theories on the confounding effect of education were compared; ideological cleavages within a post-Communist regime were demonstrated; and the intrinsic association between actual and legitimate inequality as mediated by people’s perception of reality was examined. Consistent empirical evidence from multivariate regression as well as multilevel modeling suggests three main conclusions. First, the perception of inequality plays a key adjustment role in identifying the enlightenment aspect beyond the self-interest effect of education. The social environment surrounding one’s daily life, such as inequality circumstance, functions to make it more evident, thus challenging the uniform treatment of education as an indicator of individuals’ socioeconomic status. Second, in a transitional post-Communist regime, people who are more influenced by an egalitarian ideology tend to legitimate inequality less, an institutional legacy evident across state/market sectors and age cohorts. Finally, a society characterized by exorbitant inequality directs individuals to reduce the level of legitimate inequality in spite of its positive association with perceived inequality. This leads to a refusal of adaptation theory, stating that experience with high inequality spontaneously increases the likelihood that it will be viewed as legitimate.