"We Are Here To Hunfanchi":Work Habitus And The Construction Of "Laziness" Image Of Farmworkers In Capital Farms

Under the support of national policies,the development of agricultural commercialization and the process of land circulation have accelerated,the large-scale capital farms in rural areas have continued to develop,and the team of farmworkers has also expanded.Peasants are often labeled as "lazy parasites" and "always try to find ways to slack off "after they have entered the capital farms to work.Based on ethnographic participant observation in Aiberry Company,this thesis,taking Bourdieu’s practical theory as a framework,explores the social construction of farmworkers’ labor image in a capital farm,responding to the social solidarity and social justice issues in emergent capital farms.The large-scale capital farm is a highly structured and hierarchical work field.People inside the farm are classified according to the technological capital and the cognitive activity towards work they have.Under this structure,there lacks mobility among bosses,management,and employees,and the relationship between local employees and non-local employees is alienated.The thesis argues that(1)farmworkers preserve their traditional economic attitude when they are engaged into the industrial work.(2)the "lazy" label of farmworkers is a product of the interaction between the farmworkers’ labor habitus,practice and the farm field structure,and principles.The farm field structure restricts the development of labor skills and the performance of labor cognition of farmworkers,resulting in farmworkers relatively submissive and passive practice.The farm owner tries to arouse farmworkers’ empathy ability to stimulate their labor enthusiasm,but it is difficult to break through the structure of the farm field to encourage the marginal laborers in the field.(3)farmworkers pursue multiple meanings amid work which include making a living,preparing old-age self-provision,maintaining self-esteem,participating in social interaction and accumulating social capital.The thesis makes contribution to comprehend the image construction of farmworkers and labor dilemma in capital farms from multiple perspectives.On the one hand,it is necessary to pay more attention to farmworkers’ contribution to capital farms.They meet the needs of such farms for flexible labor force,and they often endure physical health problems and work overloaded.On the other hand,it is necessary to consider the labor dilemma with the structural characteristics of the farm field.The strategies the farms have deployed,such as cultivating professional ethics,increasing labor training,and adjusting the age structure of the labor force,cannot solve the problems of alienated relations between labor groups and low labor enthusiasm because of the structural constraints.