Study On Theory And Practice Of Modern Rural Economic Cooperation (1918-1937)

Cooperation means human mutual co-ordinations in various social activities. It belongs to human appetence for their existence. Cooperation is the economic group which laborers voluntarily united to set up in order to change their conditions in production and life, and to buck for and maintain their economic interests through capital, work force, techniques or production material shares.Cooperation idea began to bud in the Utopia socialism of Europe. Cooperation movement came of "Rosedale Justice Pioneer Society of Britain" by 28 cotton spinners in Rosedale County, Manchester. From then on, cooperation gradually had been set up one country after another in the world and formed a billowy social economic tide.Cooperation cause in China has a long history too. In 1918, the Consumption community of Beijing University pioneered modern cooperation movements in China; In 1919, Mr. Xue Xianzhou titled "Farther of Chinese cooperationism" originated the House of Civilian Weekly in Shanghai and supported cooperation movements; In 1923, Chinese rural cooperation movements resulted from The No. 1 Credit Cooperation of Xianghe County, Hebei. From then on, Guomindang and Communist Party separately promoted rural cooperation movements in their own dominations from their respective ideology and developed different characteristics of rural cooperation economic system.Cooperation movements, as a novel social economic movement, had introduced from the Western world in the times of May 4. It needs economic theories about cooperation as to guide and conclude its practices. It possesses very important theoretical meanings and practical values in exploring Chinese cooperation economy, especially the evolutionary and developing theory history of rural cooperation economy. In the long run, the academia had made so called rich and colorful researches on various social meliorating thoughts in the times of May 4, but less and not systematically only on cooperation economic thoughts. This thesis illustrates systematically the historical tract that the western idea of cooperation economy, as one of the theories that the Guomin government promoted rural cooperation economy; was introduced in China from the history of economic thought and research the developing history of modern rural cooperation economy from the history of economy.The author threads this thesis by the theory of rural cooperation economy in the domination of Guomindang, which is the birth, development, practices, and their mutual relations of conflicting movements about Sanminism ideas of cooperation economy; and discusses it in many ways according to the time procedure of rural cooperation economy in the domination of Guomindang. This thesis selects bilateral materialism and historical materialism. And it contains many research ways such as, mixing history with sociology, contradiction analysis, mixing economy, politics and thought together, mixing history and logic together, and positive study.This thesis consists of eight parts: Introduction Part analyzes the meanings, study status, present problems, the study lines and ways, basic construction, keystones and innovations of this study.Chapter 1 discusses the source of Chinese cooperation movements: idea and styles of Chinese traditional cooperation, modern western cooperation ideas of main schools. It examines entirely diffusing process of western cooperation idea in China and imitating practice of infector of cooperation idea. It also concludes characters of cooperation movements during the May 4: idea subject, ideological non-capitalism, city nature of cooperation practice and movement from bottom to top style.Chapter 2 treats Chinese process and practice of western cooperation idea. Some intelligentsia tried to probe into idea of rural cooperation economy from the social economic nature of modern China. The rise of Chinese rural cooperation movements initiated by Huayang Yizhenhui declared the end of western cooperationism movement style which composed city civilians.Chapter 3 studies the birth of Sanminism ideas of cooperation resulting from the first transformation in Chinese cooperation idea, including cooperation idea from Sun Zhongshan's Minshengism, Dai Jitao's cooperation idea, and Xue Xianzhou's cooperation republic idea titled "Father of Chinese cooperationism"; and further examines the development of Sanminism cooperation idea, including Jiang Jieshi's rural corporatism idea, Chen Guofu's idea of rural government-dominating cooperatism economy, scholar-bureaucratic rural cooperation economy, civil intellectuals such as Liang Shuyu and Yan Yangchu's rural cooperation ideas, etc.Chapter 4 discusses the process of cooperation community as government policy tools from many facets. These are the social economic backgrounds that the Guomin government promoted economic policies of rural cooperation, building the system of cooperation administrative instruction, establishment of cooperation rules, and funding for rural cooperation economy.Chapter 5 analyzes practical process, content and traits of rural cooperation economy. It researches on historical general situation of rural cooperation economic development in 1927-1937 from the macro point of view; discourses types of rural cooperation community, its operations and performances, and its construction and organizing ways from the micro point of view, and concludes traits of rural cooperation economic development.Chapter 6 evaluates modern rural cooperation economy from theory to practice, and points out that rural cooperation movement is a good attempt to social economic modernization. But some problems, such as a series of poor efficiency also occur in this economy. This part analyzes causes for these problems.In the concluding part, the author puts forth some practical revelations from theories and practices of modern cooperation economy.This thesis tells us that Chinese earlier figures during the May 4 originated the new direction of rural economic development in order to save China from extinction in their learning from the western for many reasons, such as modern Chinese political and economic particularity, the current pressures in order to save the nation from extinction. For one reason, it found a new way for Chinese rural economic redress and change; for another reason, it also provides some genes for changing the main body-peasants in the movement of rural cooperation economy.This thesis concludes further that the leaders of Guomindang drew fully from the study fruits of idea infectors of cooperation economy in the times of May 4, and mixed western cooperation idea with theory of Sanminism from practical politics and made cooperation community as effective body for practicing Minshengism. They tried to find a way to redressing rural economy, construct countries and make rural economic marketizm, modernization in rural production and rationalization in peasants' life. But it failed at last because this selection is perfectly government's will, not peasants. In fact, the high and dynamic rural cooperation economic movement gradually became tools of the stronger to profit, and abandon tenets and rules of classical cooperation community. This is historical experience which leaves us to think twice and twice now.