Table of Content

20 July 2024, Volume 44 Issue 4

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The Marginal Man and the Migrant Ancestor: Chingchao Wu and Quentin Pan on Migration

DU Yue

2024, 44(4):  1-25. 

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The paper presents two distinct theoretical imaginations of relationships between man and society from the perspective of space, rooted in the western and Chinese sociological thoughts. The connection between space and personality in Simmel’s writings constitutes one of the most important foundations in Western sociological thoughts. The concept of “marginal man”， crafted by Chicago School sociologists and built on Simmel’s theoretical insights， becomes the prototype of the modern personality in western context. Equally importantly， the “marginal man” also becomes the image of an ideal modern man projected by early Chinese sociologists trained and influenced by western sociological thoughts. One prominent sociologist in Republican period， Chingchao Wu understands migration in China as a journey of marginal man， and envisions a personality freed from rural village life and enriched by diversified cultures in urban society. Wu further prescribes nationalism as a cure to the inner turmoil of the marginal man caused by conflicts between cultures， a typical challenge in American urban life. The writings of another prominent sociologist， Quentin Pan， presents a different understanding of special relationship between man and society. He identifies the unit of migration as the “bloodline” instead of an individual. By migrating， “the migrant ancestor” avoids adverse selection caused by extreme familism and rigid class structure， consequently cultivates a wholesome bloodline， which produces descendants with a keen sense of empathy and social justice， as carriers of the Confucian ideal personality who changed the local mores for the better. The migrant ancestor’s withdrawal from society presents a striking contrast to the marginal man’s invasion into space. The paper concludes that “the migrant ancestor” constitutes another prototype of personality parallel to “the marginal man” in understanding social processes including but not limited to urbanization， and deeply rooted in Chinese sociological thoughts.

Examining the Meritocracy Trap in China：From “Upper-Lower Distinction” to “Ascribed-Desert”

LIU Cheng, YU Xiulan, YUN Ruxian

2024, 44(4):  26-56. 

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From Michael Young to Michael Sandel，the meritocratic trap has remained a significant public and academic issue that has sparked ongoing debates. Fundamentally，the meritocracy trap，with the potential to disrupt social harmony and shared prosperity，represents a form of individualistic attribution bias，which conceals one’s family background and luck behind the formula of“ability+effort=success”. Consequently，the meritocracy trap creates arrogance among the elites and resentment among the underclass in Western societies，and ultimately leads to social fragmentation. This study aims to reveal the different manifestations of the meritocracy trap in China by examining Chinese students’ attribution towards the country’s unique form of meritocracy—gaokao. With the help of a qualitative research design，we conducted a comparative analysis of the intuitive attribution schemas used by two groups：urban students from elite universities vs rural students from second-tier universities，in attributing their own and each other’s success or failure. The study identifies a phenomenon called “upper-lower distinction”（上下有别），indicating that the structural degree of individual attribution depends on the relative social positions between the self and the attribution target. This partially supports the theoretical hypothesis of the meritocracy trap，but the unique Chinese culture of modesty somewhat mitigates the arrogance of the elites. More crucially，the study reveals a concept，termed “ascribed-desert”（先赋应得），is shared by both groups. It consists of a few Chinese cultural notions，including the Taoist concept of “naturalness”，consequentialism，and “ethical standard”. The idea holds that talent and pedigree，viewed as uncontrollable elements，should be considered as neutral or even legitimate. The notion of “ascribed-desert”，unlike the desert-less principle in John Rawls’s theory of justice，is the conceptual basis upon which the Chinese meritocracy trap rests. It forms a strong functional relationship with the Chinese meritocracy trap，buffering it from possible social consequences similar to those in the West. However，it also conceals deeper cultural pitfalls. The main contribution of this study is to advance the theoretical discussion related to the meritocracy trap with Chinese particularity.

Technology Disembedding in the Process of Agricultural Transformation： A Study on Extension and Application of Plant Protection Technology in Ji County

MEI Jingzhe, DAI Yousheng

2024, 44(4):  57-86. 

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This paper attempts to explore the shifting relationship between farmers and agricultural technology in the process of agricultural transformation， taking into account the technological application difficulties faced by farmers in agricultural production. Based on the case study of Ji County in Hebei Province， this paper suggests that agricultural technology promotion has gone through three stages：namely， the state led stage during the collectivization period， the grassroots agricultural market-driven stage during the reform period， and the new agricultural management entities during the agricultural transformation period. Respectively， agricultural technology has been linked to the rural society and applied to agricultural production through three forms of organization-embedded， market-embedded， and capital embedded. However， the embedded relationship between agricultural technology and rural society is not necessarily realized through farmers’mastery and application of agricultural technology. When the promotion of plant protection technology is implemented through new agricultural management entities in the form of projects， agricultural technology has realised its transfer and redistribution from farmers to new management entities， and farmers have become increasingly disconnected from agricultural technology. On the one hand， by reconstructing farmers’ practical technology and raising the threshold of acquiring modern agricultural technology， the substitution of professional knowledge for practical knowledge has been accomplished. On the other hand， by increasing support for machinery purchase and project operation for new farm management entities， traditional services centred on mutual assistance and reciprocity among friends and acquaintance have been continuously squeezed out， reducing technical services to purely economic behaviors and substituting social relations with economic relations. The social and knowledge disembedding of agricultural technology has led to a disconnection of both technology and technology services from farmers. The agricultural technology modernization can not be separated from the agricultural modernization of farmers. Attention should be paid to the technological needs of small farmers， and the reconstruction of a socialised system of agricultural services with farmers as its core， and ultimately the modernization of agriculture and rural China with peasants as the subject.

From Farm Dormitory to Village Community：A Case Study of Labor Management in a Chinese-Owned Rubber Farm in Laos

HE Haishi, HAN Jiami

2024, 44(4):  87-116. 

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This study focuses on the local labor management practice and its underlying behavioral logic of a Chinese-owned rubber farm in Laos. The rubber farm’s recruitment process encountered many challenges when both the first round of recruitment in the surrounding villages and the second cross-provincial recruitment had ended in failure. It was not until the third cross-provincial recruitment that the farm was able to secure a stable labor force. The paper examines the management practice of the third group of workers. The results indicate that the unique orientation of the rubber workers towards the dormitory became the key to labor stability. Through the interaction between the rubber workers and the farm， the farm dormitory was endowed with traditional Lao socio-cultural meanings and transformed into a village community. As a result， the village community and the farm are merged and inter-constructed. The superposition of the two has contributed to the “transfer” of the rubber workers emotional commitment from the village to the employer， thus ensuring a stable and reliable labor force for the farm. At the same time， the farm has also taken advantage of the farm’s village community attributes to innovatively establish a set of effective and flexible labor supervision and management mechanisms to further solidify labor-management relations. In addition， the farm continuously expands its labor force by leveraging the “substitute rubber worker” policy and actively recruiting the second generation of rubber workers， turning the village into a “reservoir” of farm labor. The transformation of farm dormitory into a village community fully demonstrates the strong resilience of traditional family-village social integration among Lao workers. In this case， the rubber workers embedded this traditional social bonding into modern labor-capital relations， leading to a structural adjustment of labor-management on the farm. An in-depth exploration of the social integration mechanism of local labor force can help promote a more positive and stable presence of Chinese enterprises overseas.

“Unnatural and Retrograde Order”: Adam Smith on the Institutional Foundation of Modern Economic Transformation

ZHU Huahui

2024, 44(4):  117-146. 

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Adam Smith’s theory of “unnatural and retrograde order” is often viewed as an important paradigm for explaining the birth of modern capitalism. It is generally believed that central to this theory is the notion that distant trade and commercialization acted as the “invisible hand” that guided the European economy spontaneously towards modernity. However， in Smith’s historiography， distant trade did not always lead to economic modernization， and many non-Western European regions that were also involved in foreign trade did not develop a self-reinforcing positive cycle of economic development. In fact， Smith clearly distinguished between economic forms that develop naturally in accordance with the “four-stages” progress and modern European societies that develop on the basis of an “unnatural and retrograde order”. To better understand the nature and history of modern European economic development in Smith’s theory， this article suggests that the role of foreign trade in promoting the modern economy needs to be understood within specific socio-political relations. For Smith， capital had to be anchored in the land in order to break through economic stagnation， and a stable and balanced modern economy required continuous agricultural investment. Therefore， the collapse of feudal land relations induced by the rise of trade economy and political struggles becomes the key institutional prerequisite for achieving rapid economic development in Western Europe. It is in this sense that modern European economic development manifests itself as “unnatural and retrograde”， that is， the early development of distant trade led to the disintegration of feudalism in some areas， which in turn led to the formation of a resilient agrarian economy and increasingly vibrant commerce and manufacturing industries. Based on this historical lesson， Smith supported the implementation of strong reforms of feudalism in Scotland within the framework of the British Imperial Union in order to achieve the transformation of Scottish Highland economy.

The Modern Moral Order and Its Basis of Human Nature：Significance of Shaftesbury’s Moral Philosophy for Social Theory

XIANG Wei

2024, 44(4):  147-178. 

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At the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century，Shaftesbury was confronted with not only the growing moral crisis of the commercial society and the need for a humanistic foundation for a liberal republican government program，but also the question of how to define the modern man with his expanding individuality，to bridge the gap between the individual and the society，and to reconstruct a free and virtuous general order. This required him to develop，after Hobbes，a competing theory of human nature，and thereby to construct a new moral philosophy. For this purpose，Shaftesbury drew on natural theology and Stoicism to articulate a conception of divine order that opened up the possibility of a free and virtuous civil society. Subsequently，Shaftesbury put forward a view of human nature with natural affection as the first principle，and then empirically clarified the “sociability not for self-love” that was naturally inherent in human nature，providing a powerful defense of the self-sufficiency of society itself. Finally，through the socio-psychological mechanisms of “common sense”and “moral sense”，the possibility of a moral order was illustrated on the basis of universal human nature. In addition to this body of theoretical work，Shaftesbury explicitly argued that a sufficiently free and tolerant public sphere was essential to the true realization of a good moral order. Shaftesbury’s moral philosophy set a theoretical tone for the later Scottish Enlightenment and for the Anglo-American social theory that treated the “social”logic as a means of settling individuals and constructing order. His ideas are still of value to us today in many ways.

Social Cohesion and Its Evolution：The Historical Sociology of Marcel Granet

ZHANG Yuxin

2024, 44(4):  179-207. 

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This paper endeavors to elucidate a central theme in Marcel Granet’s oeuvres：the issue of social cohesion and its evolution. This inquiry should be situated firstly within the academic context of the methodological debate between sociology and history in France at the beginning of the twentieth century. As a disciple of L’Année sociologique，Granet aimed to reconstruct ancient Chinese history through a sociological lens，thereby pioneering a historiographical paradigm that was non-individualistic，indifferent to chronology，and dedicated to uncovering objective laws. Granet observes a shift from the principle of reciprocity within marriage groups in the peasant era to the principle of political prestige in the mythological era，culminating in the overlapping of multiple forms and principles of social cohesion during the feudal order. During this period，the principle of prestige was supplanted and balanced by the principle of honor. At this time，the political group and the kinship group were also completely indistinguishable from each other. Through his analysis of Chinese history，Granet employed sociological theories to interpret historical materials，thereby challenging the epistemological and political foundations of traditional historiography. His study of feudalism，in particular，reflects his response to contemporary political concerns. It is crucial to recognize that Granet’s interpretation of ancient China stands in stark contrast to the traditions established by the Chinese historiographical revolution of the 20th century. This divergence not only explains why Granet’s work has been misinterpreted and neglected but also underscores the necessity of reassessing his academic contributions. Granet’s innovative use of Chinese texts to deduce various forms of social cohesion offers a viable methodology for applying modern social sciences to the study of classical Chinese texts. Furthermore，his work provides profound theoretical insights that are instrumental in reinterpreting the history of ancient China.

Characteristics and Formation Mechanisms of Government Care Responsibility Perception among Rural-to-Urban Migrants

ZANG Leizhen, XU Rong

2024, 44(4):  208-239. 

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The hukou division between urban and rural areas leads to objective disparities in the government welfare provision across different regions，resulting in the differentiation of residents’ subjective attitudes towards welfare. With the deepening of household registration reforms，hundreds of millions of people in China have gone through the process of “rural-to-urba” residential migration. An in-depth discussion on their welfare attitudes would not only help to fill the gap in research on the subjective characteristics of this group but also broaden the discussion on the relationship between welfare attitudes，the welfare system，and population migration. An empirical analysis on CGSS data reveals that significant and consistent differences exist between rural-to-urban migrants and local residents on the perceptions of government welfare responsibilities. The previous rural life experience has shaped the welfare ethic of rural-to-urban migrants that tends to assume more responsibility for their own well-being. The “life event” of cross-system migration leads to more positive outlooks of social and personal development，inhibiting their expectation for the government to take care of them. Among migrants，cognitive difference exists between those who made rural to urban conversion under “policy programs”and those by their own choice and action. The study brings the following insights：The gradual improvement of China’s welfare system，as well as the fact that cross-system migration increases the variability of welfare attitudes and the complexity of formation mechanisms，have made it questionable of the theoretical value of researches that attempt to determine the boundaries of the government’s responsibility for welfare with the help of foreign viewpoints on welfare. Policymakers need to take into account the objective level of welfare provisionand continue to improve public wellbeing. At the same time，the research of welfare attitudes needs to go further from tracking explicit preferences to interpreting their ethical core，so as to provide intellectual support for the profound connection between welfare system design and welfare ethics，and to promote the development of welfare policies with Chinese characteristics.