The Expansion of Peasant Rationality: An Analysis of the Creators of the “China Miracle”*—Challenging Existing Theories and Proposing New Analytical Approaches

摘要

“” “” “” :   The peasants, the majority of China's population, have always been seen as a traditional and conservative force. Formed over centuries of daily rural production activities, peasant rationality had limited efficacy within rural society and mainly functioned as a survival rationality. As rural society was transformed into industrial and commercial society, peasant rationality moved into the new society through inertia and expanded there. By combining with the advantages of the new society, it produced a kind of “superimposed advantage” that released enormous power unprecedented in both traditional rural society and modern industrial and commercial society. To comprehend the “China Miracle,” we must first understand the Chinese peasant. Similarly, to understand the peasants, we must first apprehend peasant rationality. To illustrate how the expansion of peasant rationality helped to create the “China Miracle,” it is imperative to discard the formula of tradition vs. modernity and to stress the character, attitudes and views of ordinary people in the process of social transformation.View full textDownload full textKeywordspeasant rationality, China Miracle, creatorRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02529203.2011.548916