Rural Life in Late Socialism: Politics of Development and Imaginaries of the Future

China, Laos, and Vietnam are three of a handful of late socialist countries where capitalist economics rubs up against party-state politics. In these countries, sweeping processes of change open up new vistas of opportunity and imaginaries of the future alongside much uncertainty and anxiety, especially for their large rural populations.

Contributors to this edited volume demonstrate the diverse ways in which rural people build futures in this unique policy landscape and how their aspirati...