Chinese Social Sciences Review. Volume 4

Author: Zhang Shuguang and Deng Zhenglai, Editors
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The "Theme Forum" of this volume publishes Professor Hu Biliang's "Relational Community" and Professor He Mengbi's commentary on Hu's work, "Network, Community, and Intermediate Structures." This is a theoretically innovative proposition derived from a long-term examination of real-world relationships. Although the concepts of "relationship" and "community" have long existed, transforming relationships into connections and expansions forms relational networks, thereby linking the concepts of "network" and "community" and constructing the new theoretical concept and analytical framework of the "relational community." First, based on Chinese practices, it discusses three methods for determining the boundaries of relational communities (Confucian and Mencian "Five Relationships," Fei Xiaotong's "Differentiated Circle" and relational operations) and four manifestations (blood relationship circles, geographical relationship circles, occupational relationship circles, and the Chinese network society). It then explores the basic rules of relational operations, including human feelings and face, differentiated circles, social exchange, and dramaturgy, laying the theoretical foundation for relational communities. Finally, it reveals the theoretical significance of relational communities, particularly emphasizing their openness and virtuality, as well as their role in integrating "strong ties" and "weak ties," "bonding social capital" and "bridging social capital." To some extent, relational communities can help people establish cross-regional communities beyond small-scale local communities, enabling the formation of universal trust over long distances and broader scopes to achieve large-scale cooperation across traditional communities. Therefore, as an open organizational form that facilitates transcending traditional communities, relational communities hold groundbreaking practical and theoretical explanatory significance. Precisely in this sense, Professor He Mengbi emphasizes its intermediate structural nature, defining relational communities as collective actions formed in open groups, utilizing collective resources to produce certain club goods that help members achieve their personal interests.
In the "Academic Book Reviews," Gu Siyou's review article truly grasps Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia. Employing a step-by-step and layer-by-layer approach, the article reveals the contradictions and shortcomings in Nozick's state theory. It highlights that, on one hand, Nozick argues that the sole source and limit of state power is individual rights, while on the other hand, he uses the entitlement theory to prove the illegitimacy of a more functional state. In practical arguments, he replaces entitlement theory with the justice proposition, but according to the theory of individual rights, neither process (i.e., transfer) justice can be achieved, nor can moral support be provided for the justice principles and their Lockean provisions. What can offer moral support, though integrated with Nozick's self-ownership, does not support individual rights. Self-ownership does not support absolute property rights, and according to the requirements of justice, the right to taxation is also included in property rights. Furthermore, it proposes several major revisions to Nozick's state theory.
The four articles in the "Academic Monographs" cover topics from ancient to modern times, each presenting its own theoretical findings. Zhu Qiuxia's article argues for the state-owned characteristics of the current agricultural land system, advocating for the re-establishment of collective land ownership rights based on the peasant land ownership of the 1950s' cooperatives. Yang Ruyan and Li Ziran's article discuss the transaction patterns and behavioral choices of both parties under asymmetric bargaining power, using the example of the reduction of state-owned shares. Gan Chunsong's article examines the relationship between Kang Youwei and the Confucian Association, proposing and discussing the institutionalization of Confucianism and the cultural identity of the Chinese people. Xu Hua's article explores the heterogeneity roots of modern Japan's labor employment system, illustrating how cultural concepts shape the evolution of heterogeneous institutions.
The two articles in the "Literature Reviews" demonstrate meticulous organization and evaluation of their respective research subjects. After reading them, readers not only gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic but also receive many insights. The three brief reviews in the "Book Reviews" are concise yet thought-provoking.