Neoliberal Governmentality and Neohumanism: Organizing Suzhi/Value Flow through Labor Recruitment Networks

Abstract

On a hot afternoon in July 1999 in the northern city of Tianjin, a dozen or so young rural women are gathered inside a small waiting room of the municipal Family Service Company. Sitting on a narrow wooden staircase or standing with their bodies leaning against each other, they are waiting for urban families to employ them as domestics. Outside, in the courtyard, more women seek refuge in the shade as they too wait to be called. The room occupied by the waiting women connects to an air-conditioned office through a sliding glass door, which remains closed to keep out both the heat and the women waiting outside. Through its glass panes, however, the office staff inside keep an eye on the women whom the manager privately refers to as "smelly hicks" (lao ta'er). Following the staircase up to the third floor, one can find the office of the general manager. Here the new wooden floor is smooth and gleaming. An air conditioner works quietly in one corner of the room, the abundant coolness in the office testifying to its power. On the wall facing the manager hang several red silk banners awarded for good performance by the municipal government and the city branch of the All China Women's Federation under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. The office is very quiet. This Family Service Company, the largest among two hundred or so in the city of Tianjin, is officially attached to the Women's Federation although it is financially responsible for its own profits and losses.' However, in view of its