Risk, individualization and family: managing the family in Hong Kong

Abstract

The family is the most fundamental unit of society in Hong Kong and the core element of welfare arrangements. Nevertheless, the family system has been challenged by various social forces. Using the concepts of ‘risk’ and ‘individualization’ proposed by Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, this paper examines how family structures and values have become more uncertain, flexible and unconventional. Effective family policy requires a realistic understanding of the boundaries of the state's intervention in an increasingly individualized and reflexively modern society. The paper advocates a cautious but open-minded approach to family intervention.

Keywords:

• risk
• individualization
• family
• Hong Kong

Notes

1. The proportion of never-married females aged 20–29, 30–39 and 40–49 with tertiary education in 2001 were 38.8%, 32.9% and 22.8%, respectively. The corresponding proportions were 34.2%, 28.2% and 16.6% for their male counterparts. See Census and Statistics Department (2002).

2. The number of Hong Kong residents who have worked in the Mainland almost doubled in the past 10 years (from 122,300 in 1995 to 237,500 in 2005). See Census and Statistics Department (2005).

3. Figures obtained from a survey in progress, conducted by the author in late 2007 in Hong Kong.

4. There is no overt and stated family policy in Hong Kong, but a cluster of services reflecting a general orientation.