A Study Of China Citizen Consciousness In The Contemporary Era

China is experiencing a profound social change in its transitional period. As a late modernized country, China is facing a road to modernization that is extremely tortuous and long. Market economy, democracy and country ruled by law is the framework of a modernized country. However, mature citizen culture is an important mark and yardstick of a modernized country. British socialist A·Ingles once said, "the modernization of a country is, foremost, the modernization of its people." Backward national consciousness is one big obstacle on the road of modernization for a developing country. The case is true to many countries that have established modern democracy but is still struggling on the road of modernization. Therefore, for the realization of China's modernization, important as the development of economy and the establishment of institution is, successful transition of culture and nation consciousness is all the more urgent and important.Citizen consciousness is an extremely rich connotation concept. To my opinion, it includes three aspects:civil rights and obligation consciousness in legal dimension; civic responsibility consciousness in ethical dimension; the citizen participation,consultation and compromise consciousness in practical level.The transition from subjects consciousness to citizen consciousness is the inevitable trend of historical development, which has been proved by the development process of Western democracy. Therefore, the cultivation of modern Chinese citizen consciousness is the result of historical choice. At the same time, we should be clear of the fact that, the production of citizen consciousness is obviously different in China from in the West. Western citizen consciousness came into being after the development of market economy and developed citizen community, thus bearing some nativity, while, in China, citizen consciousness has more country-giving properties. Moreover, in the context of the Chinese language, the concept of citizen consciousness contains the dilemma of individual right and collective right, the dilemma to define the connotation of the tension between social responsibility and individual freedom, that between citizen right and social right, between personal subjective consciousness and national identity. All these factors restrict the development of citizen consciousness. At present, although the development of market economy, the preliminary construction of democracy and the advancement of legal process all provide a favorable condition for the development of citizen consciousness, unfavorable factors for further development of citizen consciousness also exist, mainly, the remaining of feudalistic subject consciousness, the low level of democracy, the lack of citizen education.The East is learning from the West. Western prolific civic theories and practices provide enlightening sources and experience. After the process of ancient Athens, ancient Rome, the middle ages, modern capitalist revolution and the establishment of modern national countries, two main political philosophy tradition have been formed: Republicanism and Liberalism. Under each of the two traditions, citizen and citizen consciousness is imprinted different connotations. While republicanism emphasizes the cultivation of citizen public responsibility consciousness, liberalism safeguards the divine position of citizen individual right. While republicanism tradition "became gradually weak ever since mid-19th century", liberalism is the leading ideology in modern West".In the 1980s, the dispute between communtarianiam and liberalism became the most beautiful landscape in Western political philosophy. Out of the reflection on the increasingly obvious atomic tendency caused by liberalism tradition and citizens' indifference to national political life, communitarianism reiterates the important value of community, emphasizes the cultivation of citizen virtue and public spirit, advocates that a country should play a positive role in the maintenance of public interests, forming a conspicuous contrast with liberalism which holds a right-based and country-impartial view.There is a fierce battle which involves around individual and society,individual rights and public interests for liberalism and communitarianism,which provides a useful insight for the construction of china's citizen consciousness.civil rights and civic responsibility consciousness are an important aspects of citizen consciousness, neither can be neglected. The cultivation of civic responsibility consciousness will come to Utopia, if neglect the base of civil rights consciousness;and the same,if only emphasize the civil rights consciousness,it will catch in the same social predicament of western contemporary liberalism.Presently speaking, there will encounter lots of plights to construct citizen consciousness in China in line with the access road of liberalism. Firstly, the country-neutrality principle of liberalism substantially presupposes that the increase of national and social power runs counter to the protection of private right. Secondly, the right conception of liberalism more and more shows up an arbitrary character, which directly results in dissimilation of citizen right consciousness and impairing ties between citizens. Lastly, in the light of extreme individualism principle, stuffs to foster citizen consciousness, such as the sense of responsibility, tie of public will and ideology of community are nowhere to be found. The rise of communitarianism provides us with another feasible path different from liberalism to construct citizen consciousness in China. Firstly, the self-concept of communitarianism based on different circumstances and historical perspective affords quite a novel theoretical resource for overcoming the bad effects resulting from liberalism. Secondly, although the communitarians put the public interests firstly, they also emphasize private interests. In fact, the commonweal view of communitarianism is to reach the ideal win-win situation of community interests and private interests by actively enhancing the public interests. Thirdly, communitarianism is also in favor of active country perspective and voluntary citizen participation, advocating that country should exert influence on enlarging commonweal, meanwhile holding voluntary citizen participation is an important way to realize public interests, to boost community development and to realize individual value. Under the political premise of share, these basic positions of communitarianism afford multiple options in build mainstay and multiple channel models in build path for fostering the citizen consciousness in China. Taking China's reality into consideration, in order to foster citizen consciousness in China, besides sound legal environment and positive citizen participation, it's also necessary to exert influence of the intermediate social institutions, schools, Internet and other social communities.From the debate of Liberalism and Communitraianism to mention, It doesn't mean total and uncritical acceptance of all theoretical viewpoints of communitarianism by adopting its basic position to study the construct of citizen consciousness in China, to some extent, it doesn't mean denying some positive effects of liberalism in building citizen consciousness in China, either. We shall historically and dialectically absorb and draw lessons from both communitarianism and liberalism under the guidance of Marxism and grasp western political theories in the sense of social structure and social foundation rather than unprincipledly accept them. The construction of china's contemporary citizen consciousness must be base on the realities of china, and on the base of great efforts for civil rights consciousness cultivation, to seek the balance between the civil rights consciousness and civic responsibility consciousness.