Living with New Capitalism

唉...慢...延期三個月。如果有人(竟然)有興趣知道我在做的是什麼題目，以下是只說了research question的abstract。

Living with New Capitalism: Works and Values of the 1980s Generation in Hong Kong

Before my graduation in 2003, work had never occupied a distinctive position in my academic roam. I realized I could hardly be more wrong for being negligent when I had my first job. I was a contracted out, temporary clerk in a department of the government. My sole duty was scanning all the papers of a file room into digital form, piece by piece. I look around; some of my friends are in a similarly confused state as mine. Work is uninteresting, career path is unclear and more broadly, we are unsure about which way to go. This unexamined, vague impression is the starting point of this research. American scholar Richard Sennett provided a sociological perspective to contemplate my (over-)pessimistic personal perception in his book, ‘The Corrosion of Character’ (1998). He suggested capitalism is transforming to a different phase. He framed it as the New Capitalism, whose the core emphasis is on flexibility. Sennett went on discussing how this structural change undermined the long-term value, for instance, loyalty and commitment, of our life. It sheds light on my enquiry and directs my question to be, ‘how does a specific social structure, the contemporary, flexible workplace in today’s Hong Kong, nourish or inhibit particular kind of values of 1980s generation?’ In this research, four young men are interviewed to give a detailed account of their work and life, which goes on to illustrate some common forces shaping their generation.

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