In View Of The Development Of Ethics: Reflections On A New Stage Of China's Development

Development is the subject forever in the history of human being, but it is not being concerned and considered by human like today. The rise of development economics, development sociology, development philosophy, development ethics and other subjects about development after World War II, had testified that "development study" had become a hot subject in contemporary social sciences. However, what is development? This is still a difficult question. Since everyone treats development by the different angles of view. Somebody treats development from generalized angle of view, and others from a featured subject (just like economics, philosophy, sociology, etc.) This paper argues that development should be treated as an all-around development including politics, economy, society, culture and nature. The end of development should be the rise of humanness. Otherwise, development will be an economic growth without soul. Development is an activity full of values, just like the UNDP’s Human Development Report1992had defined,"Human development is thus a broad and comprehensive concept. It covers all human choices in all societies at all stages of development. It broadens the development dialogue from a discussion of mere means (GNP growth) to a discussion of the ultimate ends.......The concept of human development does not start with any predetermined model. It draws its inspiration from the long-term goals of a society. It weaves development around people, not people around development".During the past thirty years, China has gained world-focused gigantic achievement, but is facing some ethical dilemma which is same with the western countries in developing. With the development of economy and society, the gap between poor and rich people is broadened, the conflicts among different benefit groups are increasingly sharp; the material wealth increased, but at the same time, the mental life of people is more poverty; the capability of using nature was advanced, but the ecological environment was destroyed, etc. The material wealth increased continuously, but human’s free and overall development is still a problem we are facing. How to measure, restrain and guide development practice, walk out development paradox and stride toward a health and rational way, these are the questions we should study and answer.This paper, according to Marxist development theory and development ethics, using the research fruit of economics, philosophy, sociology, ethics and ecology, will develops study about some value questions, such as, what is good development and how to develop. The end is to find answers for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and guide Chinese development practice in the future.This paper constitutes seven chapters.Chapter one is the introduction. Mostly, this section introduced the background, significance of this paper, the research condition of domestic and overseas, the logic structure and research methods, and this paper’s innovations and shortages.Chapter two tried to analyze the modernity theory, Marxist human overall development theory, and John Rawls’theory of justice. The aim is to establish study basis for the later study.Chapter three, from the angle of historic evolvement, discussed the rethinking and innovation of development questions by human being since World War Ⅱ, and analyzed the present four views of development. The paper considers that the discussion about development from ethic angle and the quest of the ultimate value, namely, according to "people first" increase human value, is the trend of development study and practice in present and future.Chapter four, applying to Marxist materialistic dialectics, discussed several conflicts of human development practice, like the dialectic relations between development and cost, efficiency and equity, nature and human being.Chapter five, applying to the method of value analysis, discussed the value demands of human (mostly including of subsistence, esteem and freedom) and achievement conditions of them. The paper considers that society equity and the harmony between human and nature are the important guarantees for achieving human’s value.Chapter six discussed the ethic principles of good development, which are principle of people first, principle of equity, principle of overall, and principle of scientific development, etc.Chapter seven and eight are about the consideration of Chinese development practices. The paper argues that, although China had gained a great achievement in economy and society development by reform and opening policy, China had accumulated a mass of questions and conflicts. Chinese development should transfer from idea to practice, should establish value demands of people first. China should resolve some practice problems faithfully, just like poverty, the distribution of wealth, the environmental pollution, etc. and realize the human development of freedom and overall.