Individualization Of Contemporary China Rural Society And Country Reconstruction

There are different research paradigms on social change in different subjects. Anthropology uses structure function paradigm, sociology applies behavior structure paradigm, and politics tends to use power culture paradigm. These different research paradigms explain rural social change from a different perspective. However, the author discovers there is a common ground among them that they ignored individual initiative in social change, either intentionally or unintentionally.Since reform and opening up, with the development of modernity thoughts such as democracy, equality, freedom, the individual farmers have been becoming active in rural china society. They not only become independent in their production and consumption, but also establish their subjectivity in village politics and family life. Farmers’individual behaviors can become a driving force for rural social change in a way. Therefore, we should pay attention to individual factor in the studies about contemporary rural china social change. In this thesis, the author tries to introduce the concept of individualization and amend it. Then, it is applied to rural china social change study, as a structured analytical framework. Modernity factors such as diversity, initiative, equality, freedom and democracy in individual choice are stressed in this framework.In this thesis, the main content is divided into three parts. In the first part, based on the clue of historical events, the author systematically examines the interaction process between farmers and our country since reform and opening up, and to show the rural china social change through three dimensions:’taking off hat’, contracting production quotas to individual households and villager autonomy. In the second part, through two dimensions:flow and consumption, the author examines the impact of the market economy on the farmers and focuses on the rising individual proposition in this process. Then, through four dimensions: rural public rule, public opinion, public activity and public space, the author investigates the collapse of rural community and analyses its reasons. In the third part, the author discusses country reconstruction from ’individualization’ point of view.