Risk Society And Public Policy Choice

China has implemented the policy of reform and opening up since the1980s, and also embarked on its road of industrialization and modernization drive. Ever since, the past35years has seen tremendous changes and achievements of China. However, there are many various risks arising in the process of industrialization. For instance, the disaster of sleet and snowstorms hit Southern China in2008, which severely affected the life of the general public; the social conflicts and mass disturbances still break out frequently at present and other risks such as bird flu, energy crisis, ecological crisis, etc. still exist in our life.Without any doubts, China currently is in front of a society full of risks that may disclose anywhere and anytime. According to the complicated and uncertain society, it has become a serious challenge weather the governments have the ability to reduce risks from every respects or not. The author holds that public policy is the key point for it can coordinate groups’interests, solve social problems and preserve social order and so on. But, at present public policy cannot deal with risks effectively in risks society because it has some problems. Therefore, public policy should make some changes like the value, the subjects of making policy and so on. This paper puts forward some suggestions on public policy choice to deal with social risks after reading theories of risks society and analyzing social risks in China.There are four parts in this paper. The first part gives a description of world risk society and China’s risk society. And it analyses characteristics of risks, finds out reasons causing risks, and states some main risks in China. The second part expounds the relative theories of risk society and public policy; and at the end it explains the practical significances of risk society theories. The third part presents some problems in public policy including conflict of values, subjects of policy and problems of implementation. The forth part puts forward several suggestions on policy including changing values of policy, sharpening the subjects’sense of responsibility and building a system to resolve social risks.