A Study On The Significance Of Xiwo 's Dispute On The Modernization Of National Governance System

In the hundred years’ development history of western public administration, controversy never ceases. The conflict and support between the controversies have exercised a far-reaching influence upon the research and development of public administration. The debate between Simon and Waldo (referred to as "the Simon/Waldo Debate") is recognized as the most inspiring confrontation of ideas in the development history of western public administration. Centering on the identity of public administration, the Simon/Waldo Debate not only affects the development of the public administration in the following fifty years, but is of enlightenment significance to the research of public administration in China.If an in-depth analysis on the Simon/Waldo Debate is carried out, it can be discovered that the essence of the debate between Simon and Waldo is the debate on value. Simon held high the banner of positivism, while Waldo acted as a pioneer for normative research. Although they two had different academic interests, they chose to defend the battlefield that the public administration shall adhere to with several important values in public administration. Public administration started late in China, but it has experience a development process that is rich in practice. From management-based government to governance-based government, the alteration of governance system invariably implies the incisive alteration of value orientation. If a comprehensive survey is made over China’s public administration since its founding, it can be discovered that in terms of the value selection and deformation in efficiency and fairness, constitutionalism and management, and publicity, China’s public administration shares self-evident similarities with the Simon/Waldo Debate. It can be said that in value aspect, the Simon/Waldo Debate is highly consistent with the modernization of China’s governance system. The unconstrained fluctuation between efficiency and fairness, the ups and downs between constitutionalism and management and the tortuous development of publicity are unavoidable value selections in the development course of Chinese and western public administration. Apparently, western public administration has confirmed some answers and is making rewarding exploration. The western theoretical paradigm since the Simon/Waldo Debate is in particular of preference meaning to the development of China’s public administration.With the modernization of national governance system as a point of penetration and by referring to the Simon/Waldo Debate, the thesis delves into three aspects specifically. Firstly, it elaborates on the confrontational value debate between Simon and Waldo by means of historical retrospect; in magnificent historical narratives, the specific process of the debate is revivified, the essence of the debate is analyzed and the content of value debate is clarified. Secondly, the thesis clarifies the relating concepts from two perspectives, i.e. "what is national governance system" and "what is the modernization of national governance system"; the core connotation of the value is indicated and China’s route selection in the development of governance value is summarized. Finally, the thesis probes into the consistence between the the Simon/Waldo Debate and the modernization of national governance system in inner value. Such consistence is not only reflected in the equilibrium in value selection, but also points out the orientation for the future development of public administration from the perspective of institutional ethics.