On Public Finance and Constitutional States: A Theoretical Preface to Fiscal Constitutionalism

Author: Zhou Gangzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The fiscal constitution, as a fundamental component of the constitutional system in various countries, has always been highly valued by both Chinese and foreign constitutional scholars. However, why is national finance so important to constitutional systems? In the new historical period, how should China address various fiscal issues and strengthen constitutional construction? The field of Chinese constitutional scholarship has conducted very little specialized research on this topic, while fiscal scholarship has often focused on economic efficiency analysis, lacking institutional constitutional thinking. This book attempts to analyze the intrinsic connection between the market economy, public finance, and constitutional states based on the fundamental proposition that "the state is materially dependent on finance." It seeks to reveal the economic roots of constitutional states from the perspective of public finance, dissect the constituent elements of constitutional states, and conduct a detailed analysis of the necessity, feasibility, and specific strategies for China to build a constitutional state. The book will argue that ensuring human rights is the sole value of constitutionalism, or that human rights are both the logical starting point and the ultimate goal of constitutionalism. Using social science methods, the book analyzes the necessity and feasibility of improving constitutional systems, employs relevant economic statistical data to explain the structure of China's government spending and the positioning of its functions, and explores the fiscal dilemmas faced by the Chinese government and their solutions.
Based on the fundamental proposition of the state's material dependence on finance, the book conducts a comparative analysis of the various constitutional struggles surrounding public finance issues in the UK, the US, France, Germany, and China under different historical contexts. It demonstrates the correlations between the market economy, public finance, and constitutional systems, as well as related constitutional principles, through historical facts. It analyzes the common elements of various constitutional system models, namely the protection of human rights as the dimension of constitutional value, representative institutions as the dimension of constitutional systems, and the principle of power limitation as the dimension of constitutional practice. Of course, within the limits of time, the author will also attempt to conduct a comparative study of fiscal constitutional norms in various countries.