Rural Labor's Flow In View Of Chinese Modernization

Chinese socialist modernization is a great event in the course of world modernization in 20 century. The flowing of rural labor force on a large scale is one of the great changes in China since 1980s with Chinese modernization. Under the background of Chinese modernization, this thesis will try to find the causes of the flow, analyze its effect on China's modernization, give an insight into its present problems and put forward the basic thought of boosting the flow, in order to promote the modernization of China as a whole.The first part of the thesis discusses the influence of different economic modes on the flowing at the second and third stage of China's construction since 1949. It says that it is just with the support of farmers that Chinese modernization has gained capital accumulation and made a big progress. However, at the second stage, the state separated city's modernization from countryside's, carrying out the strategy of city's modernization. As a result, the modernization in this period was just the city's modernization, which formed in the city itself and the countryside's economy was still based on agriculture. While contributing an awful lot to our nation's industrialization and modernization, the farmers have never enjoyed its fruit. Since the late 1970s, the rural modernization has become a bottleneck of China's modernization. However, the policy of reform and opening up has released the farmers' creativity continuously. At length, the countryside has found its own way of modernization with Chinese characteristics. With development of township enterprises and towns as its major function, the rural modernization begins with household contract responsibility system and aims at putting the countryside into city's system. The household contract responsibility system brings about the labor force flow. Township enterprises absorb lots of it while the rest floods into cities. There has been and will be the rural labor force flow in the process of rural modernization. Because in such a country like China with farmers in the majority, the modernization could not be realized without the rural labor force flow.The second part talks about the reasons of the labor force flow. Why there will besuch a tremendous flow and farmers frenzied hunt for work in cities for so long a time. Although there have been articles on this problem, they all just attach importance to the present situation, however, this doesn't go far enough. The origins of anything could be found in history and the labor force flow is not an exception. In terms of history, 30 years' accumulation of rural labor force has laid the foundation for today's flow since 1949; in terms of reality, besides the seriously surplus labor in countryside, the household contract responsibility system shows the contradiction between a large population and limited land. To summarize, the city's economic reform uproots what hampers the rural labor flow; the mushroom of township enterprises and city's development requires the flow; the enormous income gap between rural and urban areas and between agriculture and work in cities propels it.The third part discusses the importance of labor flow to China's modernization. Firstly, it has resulted in the enormous changes of economic and social structure in rural areas, boosted the economic development, upgraded the farmers' mental outlook and promoted the rural transition from traditional social structure to modern one; secondly, it provides the city with plenty of cheap labor, facilitates the city's development and perpetual prosperity, speeds up the city's reform, and contributes to the cultivation and founding of a nationally unified labor market; thirdly, as a vital means of conducting the urban and rural economy, it is helpful for industrialization urbanization and rural modernization. The process of modernization is just the course that the farmers reduce gradually while the non-agricultural industry develops progressively. Adjusting to this basic principle, the rural labor flow is of great significance to China's modern construction.The fourth part discusses the difficulties in rural labor flow. Although the flow has a close relationship with the outstanding goal of achieving China's all-round well off society and modernization, a lot of disadvantages obstruct it: The dualistic household register management system is still in effect; the municipal policies of restricting civilian labor employment prevent farmers from many trades; the absence of social security system leaves parts of the civilian labor in trap; their situation of working and living is so bad that their legal rights are violated; the farmers' own overall qualities are relatively low. All these factors, especially the institutional and social ones work and affect thelabor flow. Concerning the civilian labor's flow back, the civilian labor who have come back home to open their own business have met difficulties which they can not overcome by themselves.The fifth part puts forward the basic thoughts and measures that propel the orderly rural labor flow. We should adhere to the principle of humanism first. According to the idea of conducting urban and rural development in economy and society together, the state should perfect the relative laws, regulations and policies. The state should update the old household register system in order to eliminate the barrier between city and countryside. Our purpose is not just having the city accessible to farmers, but giving them work to do. Therefore, the state should establish a unified labor market and reach the equal employment opportunities for all labors; the civilian labors' social security system should be built as well; their legal rights should be protected; both of their body and mind health should be taken care of and humane care should be given; training for them should be strengthened in various ways, letting them master a skill and improving their educational level, in the hope of helping them make their living in the city. Besides, the land circulation system should be carried out. This will spur some farmers to settle in the city and help finish the shift from farmers to citizens actually. In addition, this system is beneficial to appropriate scale of operation. Mentioning those civilian laborers who come back home and open their own business, the government at various levels should give relevant capital support, make favorable policies, and help them attain necessary technical support and open up the market. In one word, the government should create a favorable environment for production and managing of enterprises.The paper puts forward in its concluding remarks a view that the flow of rural labors has deep relation with developing a harmonious society. The flood of rural labor force is the only way to the modernization of China, an important path to maintaining the balance between the development of town and country and plays a vital part in the construction of a harmonious society. It is obvious that the flood of rural labor force to cities helps bridge the gap between urban and rural worlds so as to help develop a harmonious society. But reality sees that some legitimate rights and interests of migrant rural workers have been damaged and the tense relationship, even in some special cases a sharp conflict between employers and migrant rural workers has become a challenge or a...