Abstract:

China's labor model system, established in the 1950s, was significant not only in morality exemplification, but also in political economics, thus deserving further study. Lu Agou, once a model worker in Shanghai hardware industry, together with his model team, is a microcosm of Chinese labor models. The emergence of labor models is, above all, the result of labor competition, through which national political and economic objectives have been achieved at each stage. The significance of labor models and model teams lies in warding off potential slackness in collective action and aiming at the most advanced quota. For model workers themselves, material rewards or potential profits are secondary. What really counts is the identity as a labor model which facilitates job promotion.

Key words: labor model system, Lu Agou team, labor model, labor competition, political mobilization