Through The Grass-roots Society:State Infrastructural Power Of Contemporary China

Modern city witnesses existence,life and social production activities of human being,which makes modern city both complex and inclusive.Whether in the world or in China,Modern city is the important area of population inflows and also the key area of national construction and development.Therefore,the status and value of the urban governance in the national governance is self-evident.The community,as the most basic unit of governance in the city,and the street have become areas where urban social contradictions and conflicts happen frequently.Therefore,the efect in the governance of community and street is related to the realization of the goal of comprehensively deepening reform and governance modernization.The urban grass-roots governance has become the epoch proposition of the modernization of national governance.Throughout the practice of urban governance at street level in the 70 years since 1949,state power can mobilize and shape the society by organization,technology and rules.Organization is an effective carrier of the collective action and it carries state power and social power.Technology mainly means the physical and institutional infrastructure.Rules are derived from the will of the ruler,laws and regulations as well as the public standards from the spirit of contract and public orders.Because of the combined effect of the three elements,state power can transform and construct the urban grass-roots society.However,the exercise of state power also leads to the problem of effective administration and ineffective governance.The administrative power of the Communist Party of China and the government is effective,but the relevant policies of governance are ineffective.In view of this,from the perspective of power to study the urban grass-roots governance and explore the path of the entrance of the state power can achieve the coordination between the administration and autonomy,achieve the balance between the construction of the state and grass-roots governance,as well as promote the transformation and development of governance modernization.In existing studies,state power is generally regarded as a whole,and it means various powers owned by the state.But in Michael Mann's view,state power represented by political power can be divided into two types:state infrastructural power and state despotic power.The former is based on logistic control,which aims to fulfill the will and policies of the state.The latter is exercised without consultation with other groups.Looking back at the historical changes of urban grass-roots governance in contemporary China,the process of social transformation and construction by the party and government through organization,technology and rules is exactly the centralized presentation of social infiltration and mobilization by the state based on the logistics control proposed by Mann.Therefore,it is of great value to explore the relationship between state and social power in China's urban grass-roots governance by using the theory of state infrastructural power,so as to solve the governance problems of government action,social and residents' inaction,and realize the interaction and cooperation between the state and society.In view of this,the study takes W street and B community in Lucheng district of Wenzhou city as the objects of observation.By the organization of literatures and field trips,we try to reveal and explain the performance of state infrastructural power.It shows that state infrastructural power has shifted from the direct intervention in the traditional management period to the embedded operation in the period of the transformation and development of governance modernization.It also shows that state infrastructural power is embedded in the block power network,and constantly cultivates and supports the social power by various organizations and technologies,and carries out dialogue and consultation with them to jointly formulate the block governance rules and action framework.This will not only contribute to the improvement of state autonomy and social autonomy,but also promote but also promotes the cooperation of the state and society.At the same time,it will help to resolve urban social contradictions,consolidate urban grass-roots political power,and build a well-ordered urban society.Of course,not limited to the case of W block,state infrastructural power in urban blocks of China has reflected the Chinese characteristics.On the one hand,the operation of state infrastructural power will change because of the changes of the institutions and policies.Therefore,it is not always in an expanded state as emphasized by western theory,but has a characteristic of expansion and contraction.On the other hand,it is always through the grass-roots society and promotes the interaction between state power and social power.However,it is not the traditional interaction based on the equal status of state and society,but the mutual strength of the two powers guided by state infrastructural power.It is worth noting that China has entered the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.The modernization of governance in the new era puts forward higher requirements for the power interaction and cooperation between the state and the society.Therefore,in the process of studying the practice of the urban governance at street level,we should realize the new contradictions and new situations faced by the urban grass-roots governance in this period,and exert the infiltration function of state infrastructural power.At the same time,it is necessary to reflect on and even surpass the existing research paradigm with the perspective of development and the facts of China in combination with its history and practical experience,so as to avoid potential risks such as westernization of theories.