2007 (Analysis and Forecast of China's Social Situation)

Author: Ruxin, Lu Xueyi, Li Peilin (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: In the process of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society and strengthening the construction of a harmonious society, governments at various levels are paying increasing attention to the investigation and analysis of social attitudes. This is primarily because, as material living standards improve, 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, sense of happiness, sense of achievement, and social identity of the public 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 misunderstandings. For example, some local governments now include happiness in their development evaluation indicators, which should be approached with caution. Research in happiness by scholars 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 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 living in hardship, but rather those whose expectations greatly differ from their actual living standards. The authors of this book come from professional research and survey institutions, universities, and relevant research departments of government agencies. 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.