2007: Analysis and Forecast of the Social Situation in China (with CD-ROM)

Author: Ru Xin, Lu Xueyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: In the process of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society and strengthening the construction of a harmonious society, governments at all levels are paying increasing attention to the investigation and analysis of social attitudes. This is primarily because, with the improvement of material living standards, people are also placing greater emphasis on it. Moreover, social attitudes are closely linked to people's behavioral choices. The needs, expectations, desires, satisfaction, sense of security, sense of belonging, happiness, sense of achievement, and social identity of the masses are all important aspects for analyzing social conditions and grasping trends in development. However, it must be noted that the influencing factors of social attitudes are very complex, and it is not advisable to simply use certain social attitude indicators to measure performance, as doing so may sometimes lead to. For example, some local governments now include happiness in development evaluation indicators, which should be done with caution. Research on happiness by academic circles worldwide, including in China, has shown that happiness is a subjective feeling and does not necessarily represent a universally recognized form of happiness. It does not directly correlate with the amount of wealth or the level of living standards. Factors such as expectations, desires, the proximity of reference points, the degree of social openness, and the pace of social change are likely to have a greater impact on happiness. Therefore, the happiness of a billionaire and that of a rural villager may not differ significantly, and happiness does not necessarily increase significantly with the improvement of living standards. However, studying the changes in social attitudes is not without meaning. For instance, certain social attitude indicators can at least tell us that the groups most likely to produce dissatisfaction may not be those facing economic hardship, but rather those whose expectations are far greater than their actual living standards. The authors of this book come from professional research and survey institutions, universities, and relevant research departments of the government. In addition to the main report, the views of the individual authors only represent the authors themselves and do not represent the overall research team or the institutions to which the authors belong.