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Political Parties, Trade Unions And Class Basis

Posted on:2006-11-28Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:L Y QiFull Text:PDF
GTID:1116360212484487Subject:Political Theory
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
As a proletariat party which is under the guide of Marxism-Leninism, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) lays class foundation on Chinese working class. In the process of party keeping in touch with its class foundation, labor unions have capability in contacting members of labor unions comprehensively. Thus in the process of the CCP keeping in touch with its class foundation, labor unions is an important strategic organizational resource.This paper analyses the CCP's labor union policies on the dimensions of time and space. On the dimension of time, this paper will briefly depict the evolution of the CCP's labor union policies from 1921 to 2003. On the dimension of space, it will mainly analysis how reforms on labor union evolved since 1978 on the background of gradual formation of labor-capital relations, so as to review how party adjust itself to social polarization and balance labor-capital relations through reforms on labor unions.Before 1949 the CCP was faced with political task of anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism in the period of the old-democratic revolution. As a revolutionary party of proletariat, the CCP's object of the first importance is to lead and motivate strength of the class. So at the beginning of its foundation, the CCP took measures to set up organizations of labor union, led labor movement and expanded the influence of the party through motivating labors to support the revolution.The foundation of the people's republic of China in 1949 was a watershed of the CCP's policies on labor unions. The party has obtained the nationwide success and become the ruling party. Working task of the party has shifted to recover, promote production and problems concerning regime-building, such as maintaining stable social orders. At the same time working class as a leading class on which the CCP depended heart and soul, has superiorities in economy, society and political status. The party organized working class by way of unit system and play a leading role in unite system contacting working class directly through powerful organization. Besides tasks such as motivating working class to launch production and labor contests, labor unions were mainly in charge of literal and physical entertainment and living welfares, and labor union played an assistant role between the party and administrations. The state was at the advantageous status over society, and the strength of society was weak and a overall society.After 1978, the CCP brought in market mechanism gradually, the introduction of market opened transitional process of Chinese society. China's industrial structure was in a period of re-formation after acute changes in which polarization and re-combination ofsocial interests caused increase in interest consciousness and interest conflicts, and conflicts between labor and capital have become an increasing and inevitable problems. The increase of conflicts and lack of formal and institutional channels to solve the problems would threat the political stability and economic growth in Chinese society, and also influence ruling legitimacy of the CCP based on working class. As a proletariat party, the CCP faces a problem of how to keep class foundation of working class; as a ruling party the CCP faces a problem o f how to coordinate the labor-capital relation and maintain harmonious and stable development. So how the CCP integrate polarized society and through what kind of organization and institutional framework to re-adjust industrial interest relation and harmonize conflicts between labor and capital is of great importance.Labor union is periphery organization of the CCP in China, and also important organizational strategic resource. In the period of market economy, strength of the party in enterprises has been weakened gradually, as a consequence strength of party is not the same as in the period of planned economy which penetrated into the society totally and realized direct contact among class foundation. Under this circumstance, party organization maintains contact with working class through supporting the foundation of labor union in enterprises. On the other hand, in order to coordinate conflicts between labor and capital, party organization harmonizes the new labor relation and balances conflicts between labor and capital through exploring labor union's function of negotiation and maintenance. Thus labor union becomes an tie for the party to contact its class foundation and an important platform to untangle labor-capital conflicts.In this process the nature of representation and independence of labor union has increased gradually, and its strength increasing. The relation between the state and society marches towards Corporatism rather than pluralism.
Keywords/Search Tags:The Communist Party, labor union, class foundation, corporatism
PDF Full Text Request
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