The Predicament of Specialized Villages and Its Solutions: A Case Study of Zhe-Village

Abstract

Due to high competition in the same trade, residents in a specialized village become “homogeneous without shared interest”. Based on a case study of Zhe-Village, this paper describes the competition and conflicts inside specialized villages, as well as attempts at reconciliation. We find traditional measures of reconciliation, e.g. through personal relationship, community elites or their local government, to be fundamentally divergent from the economic aim of specialized villages, hence the limited effectiveness. Establishing a trade association is a possible solution to the predicament of Zhe-Village, but the lack of shared interests and inaction of the local government, combined with the attitude and distorted knowledge of villagers, hamper the founding of a trade association. To overcome these obstacles, specialized villages need rules of market competition, government support and updated knowledge. In this process, social integration may reappear in specialized villages