State and Society Responses to Social Welfare Needs in China: Serving the People

摘要

This volume is a valuable addition to the growing literature on cooperative relations between state and society in China. In their introductory chapter, the editors Jonathan Schwartz and Shawn Shieh distinguish between what they call the "sociological" definition of civil society that emphasizes cooperation and interaction between the state and social groups and a "political" definition that emphasizes autonomy and confrontation. This may be too blunt a distinction, since many political scientists focus on cooperation between state and society, but nevertheless highlights the shortsightedness of concentrating on autonomy as the true test of civil society. This is by now a common theme, but one that is too often neglected when people look for signs of civil society in China.