Who Perceive the Society More Fair? New Trends in Fairness Perception in the New Era of Modern China (2010-2021)

This study aims to explore the temporal shifts in Chinese individuals’ perception of fairness, investigate whether marginalized groups still exhibit a more acute perception of fairness, and analyze how disparities in sense of fairness fluctuate over time. To address the above questions, we employ data from the five consecutive waves of the Chinese General Social Survey, spanning from 2010 to 2021. The study maps out the trajectory of fairness perception and the evolution of group variations, uncovering that the public’s perception of fairness is growing stronger, while concurrently, the group variations in the perception of equality during the past decade show widening disparities (such as gender disparity and party membership disparity in sense of fairness) or disparity reversals (such as education disparity and work status disparity; the urban-rural disparities has disappeared and show the initial signs of reversal trend). The findings indicate that the disadvantaged groups, such as women, non-party members, and rural residents are now increasingly viewing the social equality less positively than those from advantaged groups, that contradict past findings but aligns with theoretical expectations. The findings suggest that the “exceptionalism” once ascribed to China in this regard is diminishing in contemporary China’s new era.