In previous chapters, we have discussed several kinds of social change that have taken place in China during the 20th and 21st centuries, including changes in the organization of society, cultures, values and identities and patterns of inequality. We have attributed these changes mostly to changing Chinese state policies and to the processes of modernization. But what about the role of ordinary Chinese citizens in creating social change?

As we noted in the introduction, scholars characterize China today as governed by an authoritarian, single-party state. However, Chinese government is highly decentralized. Far from being united under one homogeneous authority, uniformly enforcing a single set of policies on a mass populace, the policy behavior of state actors and their relationships with non-state actors varies according to their location in different parts of the country, at different levels of government, and in different bureaucracies, coalitions and alliances. In addition, as suggested in previous chapters, high levels of differentiation and inequality also have characterized Chinese society over the past few decades, and there is a great deal of variation between different citizens' outlooks and interests. Also, both leaders and ordinary citizens are increasingly exposed to an array of new and changing non-state as well as state behaviors, norms, expectations and desires. Together, these trends have created both opportunities and pressures for people to initiate, organize and act for social change.