New Rural Construction and Rural Development view

 New Rural Construction and Rural Development view
Yang Yao
2006-9-10
interpretation of the new rural construction, academic and policy circles are different. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the new rural construction The concept of rural development is the core of the change. This change includes three meanings. First, the rural is no longer simply equal to the agriculture, no longer simply to provide agricultural products to urban areas, but can be where people live and work. The Second, the rural is no longer the backcountry can be allowed to die, but can be a decent place to live. Third, self-management in rural areas will be based on the re-organization and cultural order. This paper will elaborate on the meaning of these three changes and discuss the new rural development and urbanization of the relationship. throughout this implicit theme of a new countryside construction as well as countries in the role of social integration. Since the early 1980s after the dissolution of communes in rural China, especially in central and western rural place a serious disintegration of the organization and culture; how to rebuild rural organization and culture, is the new rural construction must face an important issue. left and right end of each holding one end. leftists believe that the collapse of rural areas is the result of state withdrawal, so reconstruction must be country to return to rural areas as the core; right on the contrary, that only the organization of village self-renewal is possible featuring those in rural. This article states that these two viewpoints have merit, but are one-sided. the reconstruction of villages can not avoid the role of the State, because the state in the country's existence is a fait accompli, and, out of the country's reconstruction would exclude rural areas in China outside of constitutional democracy-building process. Meanwhile, the country's reconstruction can not be a single self-organized by the village to complete, as there is no system to protect self-organized, it is impossible to eradicate the root of collective action in the Villagers core of this level to start. villager self-government have legal protection, hence, institutional legitimacy, but to the villagers in terms of self-governance, it is the best way.
one, from pure agriculture to housing of the changes
a long time, determined by the state grid in rural areas to urban areas to provide cheap agricultural products. In the planned economy era, the rural residents were tied to the land as a single agricultural production in the -1978 26 years, China is not low growth rate of agriculture, food production increased to 304.75 million tons from the 163.9 million tons, the annual average growth rate of 3.3%, [1] better than the world average. even a conservative estimate, agricultural through the price scissors are transferred to the industry's accumulated total of 280 billion yuan, accounting for the planned economy of agricultural GDP by 17%. [2] Therefore, from a production point of view, that the people's commune is not entirely a failure objective. communes failure is the failure of political and social. Before the communes in rural China and a high degree of industrialization, especially in the southern region, appeared as early as the 1930s the factory. [3] in 1972 National Agricultural Mechanization session, communes and rural areas is almost complete ban on trade, rural therefore become downright The result is not only the low agricultural productivity, increased production is totally dependent on human input increases, it will destroy the ability of self-organization of rural society so completely dependent on the state of the scheduling and control. In the commune period, when the State Permanent When rural areas, rural areas but also because of the involvement of the State to maintain a certain activity; However, the disintegration of the communes, national large-scale rural out after the self-organizing capacity of the rural areas but they can not recover immediately, leading to depressed rural communities. < br> From the early 1980s, has twenty years, tremendous changes have taken place in rural areas, not just in rural areas has long been synonymous with agriculture. Nationally, the rural non-farm income has accounted for 55% of total revenue. [4] However, the Central Document No. renewed focus on rural areas. The documents say one of the highlights is not only agricultural production, but also about the rural non-agricultural industries and the treatment of migrant. This is the first out of the narrow range of agricultural, academic sector therefore lifted. However, Document No. 2005, but the old road back to the eighties, but only the agricultural production and income, not talk about rural issues. For policy makers, agricultural production related to food security, food security comes to the discussion does not seem necessary. However, Lu Feng, a simple (but reliable) calculations tell us that: China has great potential for food production, food supply is not a factor restricting China's economic development . [5]
in the short term, food production fluctuated is a natural thing, which is part of the economic cycle of .1990 junior years, the Chinese economy has entered a period of economic expansion cycle, the larger rate of increase in agricultural prices, resulting in rural areas The relative increase in income, so rural-urban income gap between the period down. With the implementation of government anti-cyclical measures and the Asian financial crisis, China's economy cooled in the late 1990s, and the occurrence of deflation, declining share of rural income, urban-rural income gap. In order to increase their income, the government decided to stimulate the enthusiasm of farmers to grow grain, which measures summarized as purchase and sale of the regression, the results are disastrous: food production is indeed up, but the treasury significant increase in the grain reserves and food sector in a substantial increase in the national Agricultural Development Bank of unpaid debts. [6] the error committed by the government here is Obviously, that is contrary to basic supply and demand: the improvement of food production will inevitably lead to a decline in food prices, the government tried to maintain high prices must fail. Government policy should aim to iron out the economic cycle, but in the late 1990s food policy is in the amplification of economic cycles, to 2002, when the policy had to give up, food prices fell to the lowest point, the rate of deflation deepened.
at a deeper level, the policy behind it is still ; rural = agriculture purpose? because of the following two reasons, the answer is no. First of all, remove cyclical factors, the growth rate of real income of farmers is not slow between 1985 to-2005 average of 6.8% per year. [7] To this speed and then accelerate, only concerned with agricultural production is not enough, the main reason is that a decline in agricultural prices in the long run, the agricultural income ratio of gross national product is declining, it is observed that the laws of all countries, China does not exception. In the long run, agriculture can not be to raise farm income share of the main force. Secondly, in the short term, prices for farm products can increase their income, but can not be maintained for a long time, because the cyclical factors that could cause prices of agricultural products decline. If the Government wants farmers through higher prices to maintain income growth, there will only be the case in the late 1990s.
the primary task of new rural construction, so is the change of government on rural development concept, completely abandoned ; rural = agriculture, work. In fact, in more developed areas, most rural residents have no farming out; the other hand, some people are trying to account in the city to move to rural areas because it can get a free house sites. even in the absence developed regions, and industry is common. Such a state may be a low state of development, but it is a state of harmony; abandoned the shackles of agricultural and agriculture, rural students may be issued a dynamic, flexible a new social living space into a new home, not just the fields for food production.
the scholars, Xuefeng discussed for the construction of new countryside are more innovative and clearly put forward the new rural road construction and the issue of China . [8] He believes that many people, fewer resources in rural China, the reality of the decision of the American China can not take the lower than the income of the peasants, which led farmers to self-contrast negative. He advocated a work of the rural population has more than 120 million, to the rural and urban complete separation is unrealistic, not to mention the pursuit of a higher standard of living rights of rural residents, people do not have any power to be limited. Therefore, Xuefeng China's road to his argument is untenable. but he still has a lot of Chinese road rationality, and the and the proposed changes in the rural development concept is consistent. and He Xuefeng different argument, this view is agriculture should be, only lower degree of development of the road, but in rural areas can be harmonious and livable. agriculture can only lower degree of development of roads, is also emphasized by other scholars. For example, Wen Tiejun, on many occasions that the Chinese people in rural areas much less destined to China can not escape the reality of the situation of small-scale production. [9] I want to emphasize is that even if the income level of rural residents than urban residents is low, the potential of rural areas in the environment can be the advantage of the quality of life of rural residents and the city increased to a considerable level. However, that only the environment in rural areas of potential advantage is necessary because the current environmental quality in most rural areas are not optimistic. This is discussed in the next section to be one of the elements.
Second, the construction of rural
decent comfortable life for people accustomed to the city, the rural life is not always romantic. in my hometown in Jiangxi example. the village is the largest source of pollution caused by sewage pig. village almost every pig, and pig pens and houses are always mixed together. Because there is no corresponding emission measures, feces and urine leaking from each barn wanton, forming a bar in the village of Wu Shuigou no rules. More seriously, , due to water infiltration, the village's wells were contaminated and had to retire, each must pay deep well drawing water. The second source of pollution from humans and pigs are mixed. the village many people are still at home, pig, pig sty and kitchen with often very vulnerable to infectious diseases. The third source is the cooking stove. In the past the villagers depend on firewood for cooking, you can now burn coal, but not in the city is often seen briquette, More than briquettes, but without any treatment of raw coal, pollution can be imagined. my home is a middle income level in the upper level of the country, but not only did not improve environmental standards, and have actually declined, two-phase offset, quality of life may not be be improved. In the more developed rural areas, residents are also up against industrial chemical pollution posed by the proliferation problem. In some areas, the groundwater is contaminated, the residents of the drinking water supply has become a problem. rural areas than in cities that could provide better living environment, but this potential does not show today. One of the tasks the new rural construction is to tap the potential available in rural areas into a decent place to live.
then decent rural what life should look like? I think that the current level of middle income in rural China is concerned, a decent living in rural areas should include five aspects, namely, health, environment and reasonable layout of the village, basic health care, orderly social life and the democratic political process. After the two elements are particularly important, often essential to factors other requirements, so I will specially be discussed in the next section. In this section, I focus on three items.

healthy environment green health indicators of the environment is not fixed, but is not to adults who yearn for rural garden building, but only without prejudice to the environment to achieve the minimum standards for human health. However, even To achieve this minimum standard is still not an easy task. schistosomiasis re-emergence of cities in the south seventh, and the intensification of the rural South between biological contamination is enormous. pollution emissions have a strong negative externality bear the cost of emissions is far far less than the pollution caused by the total cost to society. In commune era, to overcome this externality is the Chief of the mass mobilization, the sixties to the spread of schistosomiasis control in the South, is due to the persistence of a comprehensive patriotic health campaign. Today, the administration of the system has lost mass mobilization based on how the new regulatory environment to overcome collective action problems, we must face. I will discuss in the next section focuses on this issue. on health the contents of the environment, I would like to emphasize clean drinking water, toilet renovation, village drainage system and change the importance of livestock rearing. China is a vast geographical and climatic conditions vary greatly, in many places, to achieve for rural residents The goal of clean drinking water is not easy. Water is the fundamental guarantee of human existence is the basic elements of a decent life; can not guarantee the water supply, a new socialist countryside of the question. toilet clean or not, the level of civilization of a country an important landmark. For a long time, people formed the habit of not re-toilet, to transform the rural toilets, first of all to change the mindset of the people. Park Chung-hee in South Korea that year, when the implementation of New Village Movement, one of the goals is to transform South Korea's national character. [10], our new rural construction, people will inevitably have to involve the transformation of the problem. In the commune era, this transformation is achieved through the promotion and enforcement; in today, has been forced not work, but the promotion and demonstration are is necessary and feasible. Finally, the establishment and improvement of drainage systems to the village livestock feeding and changing the combination of humans and animals to achieve separation, water diversion, reducing the possibility of biological contamination.
village layout
reasonable increase in income faster in rural areas, re-planning the layout of the village is an urgent problem. the old houses in rural areas are often not suited to today's living requirements, coupled with the traditional rural building impulse, as long as the savings allowed to build new houses is the inevitable . but here are a few problems, the new rural development it is necessary to solve. One is land use issues. in most rural areas and farmers when building a new house than to rebuild demolished the old house, but open up a new site built homes. this one much of the valuable aspects of land, on the other hand the original homestead wasted. in developed rural areas, old houses can be rented to foreign workers, while the outflow of labor in the Midwest, the old house can only be idle. The second problem is the village planning. Although in the past There is not planners, but in general have a certain village planning. However, I have been to the coastal villages, the village is basically no tricks and indiscriminate expansion. The third The problem is the architectural style of houses. Currently the most popular architectural style in rural areas is affixed to the white tile, and made the same everywhere, like a toilet. to change the current style of rural architecture prevalent custom of a solution is a reasonable cost to rural residents and the diversity of design drawings, and the construction of a number of model village. local officials are often understood as the new Rural Village building, and tried to force the government to force the Village Planning, inviting senior academics and government critics. However, witnessing the messy layout of the village and rural construction the disappearance of aesthetics, I can understand the original intention of the local cadres. The problem is how to village planning. has experience shows that ignoring the villagers are engaged in financial and lifestyle village planning, eventually will fail. Here, the villagers of democratic participation is very important The next section will focus on this issue.

basic medical care for rural pension if their children can still rely on, then the rural health care is entirely blank. the people's commune era of cooperative medical care system can still address basic medical villagers, and now, the country has some form of medical insurance does not exceed 20% of the villagers. Recently, the central government increased its investment in the new cooperative medical care, the original insurance subsidy of 10 yuan per person up to the person 15 yuan, local government contributions have been increased. This is a commendable initiative. At present, the new cooperative medical care to focus on resolving the two issues are insurance coverage and insurance rates. In the current rural, serious illness of the villagers much higher than the level of minor ailments, for two reasons. First, now almost every village has a private or Public doctors, their fees low, the villagers of minor illnesses can be handled by them. Second, the serious illness of the villagers of great . generally limited capacity to pay of rural households, in order to treat serious illness, you have to borrow, which bear the burden of long-term. There is evidence that a child in primary school if the main labor at home sick, then his probability of entering junior middle schools down 19%; [11] In addition, if a family had any serious illness if the students, then the income of these families have less than 24 years in the future, it's normal income levels. [12] Therefore, the new cooperative medical care The goal should be the same and urban health care, insurance protection rather than more serious ailments. In many places, the new cooperative medical care has become a mere tens of dollars to reimburse the government, completely lost the role of health insurance.
how increased insurance rates, is a new cooperative medical care are facing a problem. According to the central spirit of the villagers insurance, to be on a voluntary basis. However, voluntary insurance will cause serious adverse selection problem, that is only expected to have been ill or they will get sick of people will be insured enthusiasm, and young and strong people do not insured. the consequences are too heavy burden on CMS, or difficult to continue, or to degenerate into just a few government-funded reimbursement Ten dollars of the state. In the past, the villagers are very disgusted with the local government arbitrary charges, the Government asked for the cooperative medical insurance on a voluntary basis consistent with the political logic. However, this requirement violates the laws of economics, in order to ensure the long-term rural cooperative medical care, Government must give up this request in favor of mandatory insurance. In fact, the government has lost a golden opportunity to force the insured, this is the time to abolish agricultural tax. The Government should have done, instead of abolishing the agricultural tax, but changes in the agricultural local fund for rural health care. national agricultural taxes amounted to more than 500 billion yuan, 60 yuan per capita of rural residents (calculated by 800 million rural residents), plus central and local levels of government as well as the contribution of rural residents own 15 yuan, 105 yuan per person than there is money enough to build a pretty good serious illness insurance system. And, since most of its funding comes from taxes, the health insurance fund will vary with the amount of the growth of rural income increased year by year, the rural Therefore, residents can enjoy better and better medical services. a way to compensate is the central to all parts of the agricultural tax subsidies for rural medical care, serious illness as soon as possible to establish a functioning insurance system. However, to achieve long-term sustainable operation of the some form of tax is still necessary.
to achieve these objectives can not do without state intervention. In addition to financial support, the state can create a certain organizational resources to facilitate the goal. as a national policy for some time, the new rural development should be established at the central level, the corresponding system and organizations, such as new rural construction leading group. The new rural construction is a comprehensive project, involving many departments, the establishment of a unified governing bodies is necessary. However, the country's intervention as in the past can not be a pole inserted in the end, but through the village self-government organizations. the so-called respect the choice of the farmers themselves, not just listen to the views of farmers, but to enable them to decide the specific content of the new rural construction. This involves the organization of rural and social reconstruction, which is to discuss the contents of the next section.
three
rebuilding rural society in Chinese academic circles, few people would deny that China's rural society has to collapse edge. particularly in the Midwest, basically paralyzed formal organizations, rural politics degenerated into anarchy, some village is dominated by bullies. conservative liberals put the blame on the socialist revolution and a gross national grass-roots community interference, while the leftists on the contrary, that the State's withdrawal and the collapse of the market is the root of rural society. They are only half right. In the eyes of the Left, is a thriving rural people's commune era, the farmers through the commune and Together, therefore gaining a greater capacity. Indeed, China has made in people's commune era of the achievements of other developing countries can hold a candle, such as the establishment of rural health care, literacy rates and irrigation to improve the popularity and so on. At the same time, farmers daily life richer than the present (such as the commune era of the film team on a regular basis to rural areas as well, now we do not). However, these achievements, let us also pay a heavy price, that is, as already pointed out, ; into a simple the criticism, no matter how good the original intention, inevitably fail. [13] At this point, liberals criticized the state is correct. In the people's commune era, the state through the brute force of the Country Society a thorough transformation, to maintain the original organization of rural society and human fibers completely cut off, making the rural society to fragmentation. [14] However, the State will be able to exit on the reconstruction of rural society? not. This is primarily because rural community has lost its self-renewal. social reconstruction requires the right leaders, they must satisfy two conditions, one is certain of the economic base, the other is with the moral or ethical appeal. In today's rural rich, yes, but most of them have no knowledge superiority, and geo-ethics blood and have basically lost the moral role. Perhaps, dozens, hundreds of years, the rural community can rely on their own Health issued a new type of social relations ; But Lord Keynes famously always be our alarm: in the rapid urbanization process, the independent evolution of rural society may lose the opportunity, in the absence of external intervention, it is entirely possible depression and collapse onto the road.
higher level in the history of the vertical, both conservative liberal or leftist, there is a misreading of history. The twentieth century was the most dramatic change in Chinese history a hundred years, in its seemingly chaotic beneath the surface, is a persistent social revolution. Whether Hsinhai Revolution, or the May Fourth Movement and the socialist revolution, in the grand historical scale, and their mission are the same, that is completed by the feudal monarchy to the people of the Republic of change. China certainly does have a succession of ancient things, but this revolution is absolutely necessary. As pointed out by Qian Mu, China's political decline from the Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty is the history of China's most corrupt. [15] to the Qing Dynasty, Chinese society has become very stiff, unable to cope with the West powers of the attack, in addition to surrender to brute force only against the Boxers. a revolution overthrew the monarchy, but did not touch the basic structure of Chinese society. May Fourth Movement, shouted parted ways and traditional culture, but the real grass-roots level to complete the social revolution in China, is the new democratic revolution. Although this form of radical revolution, but land reform but never fundamentally changed the basic structure of Chinese society. At this point, the mainland land reform and land reform in Taiwan is the same strain, completed the same cause. The difference is that Taiwan's right to stop the social revolution, while the mainland will continue to evolve into a movement to re-depriving farmers of their communes, so that 1978 years later had to be corrected. conservative liberals to deny any form of revolution, is color-blind patients suffering from performance history; the left who praised the people's communes, are suffering from the performance history of myopia.
Wen Tiejun keen to see the collapse of China's rural roots in the rural non-organized, his proposed solution is to develop their own organizations of farmers, such as farmers associations, production cooperatives. [16], spontaneous rural organizations can indeed help the reconstruction of the village culture However, at the institutional level to promote a comprehensive, self-organization may not be able to assume full responsibility for, the reasons for collective action still is the classic paradox: most people will watch and wait for others to catch a ride. countries have become the country can not be to avoid the reality of the existence of the reconstruction of rural society, it can only village in the country and start the junction, the carrier is a village self-government. villager autonomy is the only village governance today has the form of political legitimacy. [17] the traditional carriers - such as the clan - has lost its moral and reasonable, while in China, most of the countryside, their impact is also extremely weak. Similarly, the state monopoly has lost the moral foundation; laid down for the State out of the shadow of the villagers, countries, especially representatives of the State in the grassroots level - Local Government - not the best choice for village governance. Therefore, Peng Zhen, vice chairman of the villagers in the same year raised the idea of autonomy is very far-sighted. After two decades of practice, the villagers Villagers elected as the core has made great achievements, not only to strengthen the supervision of village cadres, but also improve income distribution within the village. [18] More importantly, the villagers have their democratic rights understanding, began to use legal means to protect their interests. villager autonomy for the Chinese practice of grassroots democracy, social learning of democracy and provide a stage for a wider range of conditions for the democratic process. to the opportunity of Villagers, probably born in rural China The new issue of culture, it is characterized by equality, consultation, cooperation and diversity. Many commentators have stressed that a variety of internal resources of rural reconstruction in the role of rural culture, the villagers of democracy does not exclude these resources, instead gave the role they provide stage. On the other hand, the villagers found rural Democratic leaders, and provide them with legitimacy.
village elections is an issue encountered in less developed areas, the enthusiasm of the village election is not high, mainly because of underdeveloped area of the village collective economy is weak, the village is no public resources available for distribution, election or not, and the villagers have little to do. The new building could be increased rural villagers in a positive turning point election. According to the Eleventh Five-Year Plan of arrangement each of the next five years the government will reach 270 billion yuan fund for agriculture, an average of more than 100 million yuan each county. even if this 270 billion yuan is not all for the new countryside construction, the number of each county will receive very substantial funding. To rational use of these funds to the villagers of their choice must be respected, because only they know what areas most in need of financial support. One advantage of doing so, the villagers will thus mobilized to participate in public decision-making process of the village, the villagers self-government which can take the opportunity to track.
leave the government, as the modern economy can not function properly, as closely related to modern society and government. the kind of confrontation between the government and society's views, if not out of ideological bias, that is, the modern society's ignorance. In an ideal democratic society, the government the sole authority of the majority of people agree, therefore, reflect the government's actions can only be the will of the majority of the people, in other words, government is part of the community. While there is reality and the ideal a considerable gap, however, the government shut the door to the equivalent of the society this ideal erase from our calendar. In a well-ordered society, the relationship between government and civil society should be partners, not opposition parties. the application of this argument up to the new rural construction, we should not exclude the government in which the role played by. in front of a village made a few decent standard, to meet these standards require government financial and organizational support. For example, in village planning, the government can be organized in the village a model village for local conditions in the planning. As another example, the Government can provide incentives to the country to the theater performances, cinema to the villages to encourage the county to touring show. However, government intervention can only be the interface village village committee and village committee also heard the views of the villagers, and villagers in rural areas the construction of the new content negotiation. This country established - state relations is not a conservative by liberals independent model village imagination, nor is it leftists imagine the return of the commune form of organization, but a new partnership.
Fourth, the new rural development and urbanization
and receive only meager wages, and without the necessary medical treatment and health protection. the new rural construction will play an active role in this regard.
rural areas through new construction, rural, will become able to maintain a decent place to live. This is bound to increase rural residents the opportunity cost of migration to cities, to a certain extent slow down the process of urbanization. But even if this effect exists, it is also good for rural residents, but also conducive to China's economic restructuring. rural town Treatment of new immigrants is low, is widely recognized. national laws and regulations (such as minimum wage) can play a role, but the most effective means of their own choice of new immigrants. Recently the shortage of workers in southern coastal areas, mainly due to is better than working at home in the city of high net income of farming, new immigrants voting with their feet, have returned home. in order to attract workers, manufacturers have improved the treatment of workers. The new rural development to improve the quality of rural life and improve the negotiation of new immigrants in the city capacity to improve their working conditions. on economic structure, many people think too much of China's exports cheap products, pure exploitation by foreigners, it advocates the use of a variety of measures - such as allowing the yuan appreciation and the tax on exports - reduced exports. Let us put aside whether China's exports too much, even to reduce exports, can not use or export tax revaluation approach. directly reduce the export tax on exports, thereby reducing job opportunities and wages of workers puts downward pressure, new immigrants will therefore become the biggest losers. RMB appreciation on the high-income benefit because they buy imported goods, but also travel abroad, but, like taxes on exports and reduce export, against new immigrants. New improving rural countryside quality of life, increase the bargaining power of new immigrants can not only improve the wages of new immigrants, but also encourage enterprises to improve value to their products, so as to achieve the purpose of improving the economic structure. Of course, companies will increase capital intensity and reduce the workers; However, the workers as a whole, benefits will still increase because of China's current economy is very large labor supply equilibrium, the labor demand elasticity is less than 1.
new rural building is not only the rural agricultural areas into a single place to live, and will change the supply of cheap labor in rural areas as urban land situation. If the