China News Agency, Xi'an, July 26th: Why are traditional people-oriented and modern democracy "connected"?
——Interview with Zhang Shiwei, professor of the School of Politics and Public Administration, Northwest University of Political Science and Law
China News Agency reporter Alina
Democracy is the basic meaning of modern civilization and the common value of human beings in the world today.
China has included "democracy" in its core socialist values and promoted the building of people's democracy throughout the process.
Democracy is not completely "exotic" to China. In the highly mature Chinese traditional political concept system, the idea of "people-oriented" plays an important role and constitutes an important foundation for the root of Chinese civilization.
What is the implication of China's native "people-oriented" thought?
What are the similarities and differences with the Western concept of "democracy"?
What kind of ideological resources does it provide for China's democratic construction?
Recently, Zhang Shiwei, a professor at the School of Politics and Public Administration of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions" to interpret this.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service reporter: What are the basic propositions of the traditional Chinese "people-oriented" thought? What kind of historical development has it experienced?
Zhang Shiwei:
China is self-contained in terms of its political origin and state form. The origin of the people-oriented can be traced back to the gestation of Chinese civilization. The political literature of the early state stage has a clear people-oriented thought.
The basic political proposition of the people-oriented thought not only provides the value orientation of "people are the foundation of the state", and identifies the people as the decisive factor for the country's survival, but also provides the administrative principles of valuing the people, fearing the people, and "listening to the people". , taking public opinion as the decisive factor affecting the country's major policies and policies, and also providing constraints on the purpose of protecting, nourishing, and educating the people, emphasizing that those who govern the country should seek to benefit the people, not self-interest.
Along with the historical evolution of traditional Chinese state form and the gradual development of political theoretical thinking, the people-oriented thought gradually got rid of the early theological framework after the Western Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, it has become an important part of traditional Chinese political thought. It has also formed a theory with rich content and rigorous structure, which highlights the basic status of people-oriented. practice.
"People-oriented" is one of the many political ideals in Mencius.
The picture shows the Mengfu Scenic Spot in Mengmiao, Zoucheng, Shandong.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Ren Haixia
China News Service reporter: As an important cornerstone of China's traditional political ideological system, the "people-oriented" thought reflects the characteristics of China's civilization?
Zhang Shiwei:
Chinese traditional political civilization takes the people-oriented thought as an important cornerstone. It not only places the "people" in the decisive position that determines the country's survival, but also highlights that the value goal of politics is to seek to make the people become human beings.
The people-based thought embodies a series of unique characteristics of Chinese civilization.
The major aspects include: 1. People-oriented, manifested in the abstract concept of the people as the foundation of the people, extending the scope of the people as the foundation of the state to all people, and also in the generalization that the foundation of the people emphasizes both the distribution of interests and the people. "Quiren" means becoming an adult.
2. Coexistence and symbiosis. The target group to pursue and maintain is not a part of the people, but the coexistence and symbiosis of the people as a whole.
Third, benevolence, courtesy and yield, the people-oriented consciousness contains a strong love, "putting oneself and others", loving others with virtue, loving others with courtesy, righteousness over profit, which has become the basic principle of traditional Chinese political behavior.
China News Service: What are the similarities and differences between China's "people-oriented" thinking and Western "democracy" thinking?
Zhang Shiwei:
Both Chinese traditional "people-oriented" and Western "democracy" have a long history.
"People-oriented" has always been a "good thing" in Chinese history, but its influence is mainly limited to the level of political values and ideals and the guiding ideology of state governance and administration, and its influence at the institutional level is very limited.
Although "democracy" has not been regarded as a "good thing" by social elites for a long time in Western history, and there is a fear that democracy will become "the tyranny of the majority", its influence at the institutional level has never been neutralized.
Both "people-oriented" and "democracy" emphasize that the purpose of politics is for the people, that politics should be pursued for the people, that politics is a shared public tool, and that taking the public for personal gain should be condemned as a matter of course.
But the difference between the two is also obvious, that is, whether the decisive role of public opinion in the political process can be reflected in the institutional system of national governance.
The performance of "people-oriented" in this regard mainly focuses on "listening to the people", the degree and effect of "listening to the people" does not depend on the people, but depends on the ruler's efforts to promote public interests and eliminate public hazards for the world. This lacks the rigid guarantee of the system, and the link of people's governance is thus insufficient.
The focus of "people-oriented" is to stimulate the "public heart" of the rulers.
"Democracy" in the Western tradition is more manifested in the rigid guarantee of the rule of the people at the institutional level. The class structure of society directly determines the type of political system, and also fundamentally determines the rise and fall of the rule of chaos, and even its survival.
Western "democratic" state governance is more inclined to represent part of the society and implement the way of thinking that treats politics as a game of interests. "Tragedy of the commons" is both iconic and typical in the Western "democratic" tradition. .
Everyone has their own selfishness, and everyone has their own interests; public interests should not be promoted, and public hazards should not be eliminated.
The main purpose of "democracy" is to overcome the prevailing "selfishness".
Tourists visit the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Sheng Jiapeng
China News Service reporter: What kind of dialogue, convergence, and mutual integration have "people-oriented" and "democracy" experienced in modern China?
Zhang Shiwei:
Chinese traditional "people-oriented" and Western "democracy" have "meeted at two extremes" in modern China.
In terms of governance effects, the "democracy" in the bourgeois era is generally better than the "people-oriented" in the era of the landlord class. The powerful bourgeoisie uses "democracy" to control the state apparatus, go global, and colonize the world, causing the East to depend on the West. Unequal international pattern.
Because of the humiliation of the country, Chinese scholar-bureaucrats made the determination to "learn the skills of the barbarians", and used the traditional "people-oriented" mentality to understand the belly of Western "democracy". ”, resulting in the dialogue, convergence and integration of traditional Chinese “people-oriented” and Western “democracy”.
In the process of dialogue, convergence and integration with Western "democracy", the traditional Chinese "people-oriented" occupies a certain active position. Bit by bit, it gradually absorbs Western "democracy", transforms itself, and finally forms a Chinese-style democracy. Theory and Democracy.
Of course, China's traditional "people-oriented" does not naturally and voluntarily absorb Western "democracy".
Under the European wind and the rain, the traditional Chinese scholar-bureaucrats have undergone tremendous changes in their minds. The traditional theoretical edifice of "people-oriented" has gradually been fragmented. Transplanting the Western "democracy" edifice has once become the common choice of China's advanced elements.
However, the transplant of Western "democracy" into China cannot be immune to the influence of the "people-oriented" that has fallen into the mud.
The excellent elements of "people-oriented" have influenced and transformed the transplanted "democracy", making Western "democracy" Sinicized, and the traditional "people-oriented" has also been transformed in the process, resulting in the modernization of traditional and excellent culture.
Socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics is the product of combining traditional Chinese "people-oriented" with Western "democracy", which includes a series of theoretical and institutional innovations.
China News Service reporter: What kind of ideological resources did "people-oriented" provide in the development of China's modern democratic thinking and democratic construction?
Zhang Shiwei:
The development of China's modern democratic thinking and democratic construction objectively includes the modernization of traditional "people-oriented" and the Sinicization of Western "democracy". .
First of all, traditional "people-oriented" and Western "democracy" share the same connotation and appeal of emphasizing and serving the people, so that the two can be combined in practice and objectively provide the foothold of Western "democracy" in modern China. It has become the starting point for the growth of China's modern democratic thinking and democratic construction.
Chinese advanced elements can accept Western "democracy" because they see the common ground between the two.
Secondly, because the traditional "people-oriented" pays more attention to the whole of the people as the fundamental value, to a certain extent, it corrects the bias of Western "democracy" as a game of interests of different groups.
As a result, the political concept of coexistence and coexistence has been inherited and developed in China's modern democratic thinking and democratic construction.
Thirdly, the influence of traditional "people-oriented" on politics is comprehensive, and China's modern democratic thinking and democratic construction are affected by it, and democracy is also regarded as the existence of implementing all aspects and aspects of politics, surpassing the Western "democracy" that focuses on elections. The limitation of the links not only realizes the innovation of democratic theory, but also enriches the democratic practice.
The relief sculpture of "Mr. De and Mr. Sai" in the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai.
"Mr. De and Mr. Sai" means "democracy and science" and were the two banners during the Chinese New Culture Movement.
Photo by Zhou Shenghui issued by China News Agency
China News Service reporter: At present, how should the whole process of people's democracy construction absorb and draw on the essence of traditional "people-oriented" thinking?
Zhang Shiwei:
People's democracy in the whole process is not only a new democratic theory, but also a new democratic form.
The theory and practice of people's democracy in the whole process was conceived and formed in China, and contains the essence of the traditional "people-oriented".
However, the whole process of people's democracy, as a brand-new democratic theory and practice, adopts a dialectical analysis attitude even for the essence of "people-oriented", emphasizing not only the inheritance of the excellent essence, but also the criticism of the inheritance method and process, and the traditional The excellent content of the people's foundation is transformed into the essence of modern democracy in China.
The essence of China's traditional "people-oriented" will continue to nourish the continuous innovation and development of people's democracy in the whole process, and provide China's wisdom contribution to the ever-changing democratic development of mankind.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Zhang Shiwei is a professor at the School of Politics and Public Administration of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, a researcher at the Human Rights Research Center, a member of the school's academic committee, and the chief expert of the first-level discipline of political science.
He also serves as the eighth and ninth executive director of the Chinese Political Society (2014-present) and the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth deputy secretary-general (2006-present), and the vice chairman of the Chinese Political Thought History Research Committee of the Chinese Political Society. Vice President of Shaanxi Political Society.
His main research areas are the history of Chinese political thought, Chinese political philosophy, and contemporary Chinese politics.