Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A314-W168
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A314-W168
Release
Date: November 25, 2007
发布日：2007年11月25日
Topic:
Two Major Conflicts in Current Chinese Society that Only Democracy Could
Resolve (Wei Jingsheng's Commentary on Radio Free Asia)
标题：只有民主体制能够解决中国社会现有的两大基本矛盾（魏京生在自由亚洲电台播出的评论）
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Two
Major Conflicts in Current Chinese Society that Only Democracy Could Resolve
--
Wei Jingsheng
Although
the Communist Party's 17th Party Congress was disappointing for everyone, there
was still some content that was different from previous Party Congresses. This time, everyone's disappointment
was not because this year was a total replay of the same old story. Rather, it
is because the content everyone hoped to see about democratization was not
included. Not only were there nothing new about democratization and the next
step of reforms, instead there was disappointment of returning to the ways of
old times.
This
only makes everyone even more disappointed. Although Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin's half-hearted
reforms were unsatisfying for people, and brought about many difficult
political and social problems to resolve, but at least they were on the path of
stepping out of Mao Zedong-style autocratic dictatorship. At present it is
clear that Hu Jintao is backtracking, everyone has felt this move to a greater
or lesser degree. The only difference is that in recent years the United Front
Department of the Chinese government has been buying up the overseas media to
help them to put a spin on things. The "exported products being sold in
the domestic market" kind of news that everyone trusted in the past has
become more and more untrustworthy. This has led many ignorant Chinese to be
deceived and mistakenly think Hu Jintao and his clique are still moving forward
on the path of openness and reforms.
During
the first ten years of reform, which was the 1980s, the partial reforms that
affected only the economy and not the political system were already showing
signs of fundamental drawbacks. And that is that they created two basic
conflicts, from those two conflicts produced full-scale social and political
problems, and further obstructed the reforms from continuing on. These two
basic conflicts are: conflict
between the demand for a free-market economy and the one-party dictatorship's
opposition to freedom; and the conflict between concentration of wealth against
the poverty of the masses, something inevitable in an autocratic regime. The
eruption of these two conflicts during the 1980s gave rise to the trend in
libertarian thinking. Furthermore, the poverty-stricken people's bitter hate of
corruption was in play to launch the 1989 June 4th Democracy Movement. The reason the ruling clique could use
suppression to keep the conflicts from expanding at that time is because then
the gap between the rich and the poor had not yet reached the point that it was
completely unbearable. It was only the intelligentsia with libertarian thinking
that were unsatisfied; it was still not enough to shake the rule of the
military dictatorship. Suppression
achieved the effect of safeguarding the bureaucratic capitalist class, it
protected them as they used their authority to pursue personal gain and swallow
up public property.
Since
the 1990s the two fundamental conflicts brought about by the partial reforms
have not only not been alleviated, they have developed to the point of being
even more acute. Although a portion of the intelligentsia who believe in
liberty have been bought out, or placated, yet the working people who are
resisting have grown by ten times.
The form of resistance is growing more and more intense, and the minds
of those who are revolting are also clearer and clearer. The leaders of the protesters are also
less easily misled. The theories and preaching of the moderate elites who have
been bought out by the bureaucrats are more and more out of touch with the
reality of people's lives, which has led the people to spurn them. The two
methods of suppression and deception are already incapable of producing a
sufficient effect. The reality of society demands that the political system
make corresponding changes, so as to attempt to resolve the explosive pressure
brought about by the autocracy and the gap between the rich and the poor. We
can see that even from within the Communist party there are continuous cries
for this sort of reform.
Yet,
within the Communist party there is obviously another sort of explanation. The
bureaucratic capitalist class is unwilling to give up its enormous interests,
so its hired scholars help them find excuses that are different from normal
reasoning. To counter the protests of the people they say that the government
has been too benevolent and has spoiled the mob, leading the mob and the unruly
people to hold unrealistic fantasies. To counter the issue of the gap between
the rich and the poor they say that the Chinese commoners do not know that the
money does not belong to them, and that the property rights of the rich should
be made explicit to prevent the mobs from getting unrealistic ideas.
The
pitiful thing is that this excuse is by no means a new invention; it is the
same overused theory spoken by rulers for thousands of years. It is not easily
accepted by the poverty-stricken masses, and it is difficult to link up with
Marxism as well. When there is
absolutely no theoretical foundation for this type of unreasonable thinking, it
is very much needed an authoritative covering in order to hoodwink the people.
This is the reason Hu Jintao and his clique has been using the new term
"the perspective of scientific development." The impression
"scientific" word gives people is mysterious and authoritative;
furthermore, it is not something that everyone can understand so people have no
choice but to accept it. Yet, the word of "development" includes the
model of the bureaucratic capitalist class. Since in the past they already
proved they are developing, they just ought to continue developing. Yet, that
of course does not include the price people of impoverishment have to pay for
that development. That is the
actual meaning of this "perspective of scientific development" in the
real China.
To
summarize, the two major conflicts in China is the conflict between a free
market economy and a liberty-lacking one-party dictatorship; and the conflict
between the extremely poor and the extremely rich brought on by extreme
autocracy, which is more prominent right now. As China has the number one
rich-poor gap in the world, that has brought about widespread hatred and
created a dangerous and restless society.
When
subsistence becomes a problem for the poor there will be people who take
extreme measures to make a living, and they would not necessarily take into
account the security of other people's life and property. Individual illegal
operations together form organized illegal professions, which is the social
foundation for organized crimes. Common throughout China, the number one
organized crime organization in the world was actually a secondary product of
poverty. Another part of society in charming contrast with the organized crime
is the corrupt economy that permeates China from city to village. The income
made from the first class of eating, drinking, prostitution, and gambling, has
become the theoretical foundation for the economists explain the division of
wealth in society. This
illustrates that an enormous wealthy group of the bureaucratic capitalist class
has already formed. In the words of the average Chinese: in China there are three kinds of
different worlds.
The
first world is of the major bureaucratic capitalist class and elite of the CCP
offspring. They live their lives
in the paradise capitalism provide. According to government statistics there
are somewhere around four thousand billionaires. If we calculate in their
enormous undeclared income as well and then add their mistresses in too, the
people of this class are probably about one out of ten-thousandth of the
country's total population. Besides the corruptive economy produced from
"the secondary distribution", they own about half of "the first
distribution" of directly production.
And
making up less than five percent of the total population is the middle class,
whose income has reached a point that they have pretty good standard of living.
Yet, the average income of the middle class is only one percent of those in the
bureaucratic capitalist class. This is the so-called second world.
The
situation in China to be different from the rest of the world is because
China's third world makes up more than ninety percent of the total population.
Not only in the countryside, but also in all cities the poor people who belong
to the third world make up more than ninety percent of the population. The poor
of the third world and the bureaucratic capitalist class do not only have
different living and different educational environments; it has even reached
the point that they do not share a common language. The barrier between them
has already reached the point that they cannot speak to one another. For people
who are estranged living on the same land, within the same city, it is nearly
impossible for them not to develop hatred and spite toward each other.
In
democratic societies, class antagonism only rarely develops to the point of
such hatred. There are three main reasons:
The
first is the most important reason and that is that free market economies are
matched up with a free social system. Democratic political systems guarantee
people's liberty and human rights to the greatest extent. In this environment
people have nearly equal opportunities. Complaints about unequal social
realities are greatly reduced, reduced to the point that they are bearable.
The
second reason is that democratic politics guarantee majority rule, and a
majority of the government's policies tend to favor the poor majority. In plain
language, taking from the rich to give to the poor is no longer the job of the
Robin Hood figure; rather it is the conduct of the government. Thus it is
larger in scope and more effective, and there is no need to kill anyone. You
can carry it out peacefully, rationally and without violence.
The
third reason is that in an environment with equal opportunity and
redistribution of wealth, majority of ordinary people can, through hard work,
also enter the ranks of the so-called middle class. Making up the majority of the population, the middle class
determines the way of life in this country. This shrinks the class difference
enormously, and the rich and poor do not have to regard one another as enemies.
In
the majority of situations that I have encountered in the U.S., the rich and
poor greet one another with a smile and converse chattily. In the presence of
the rich, the poor still proudly carry their head high and speak openly, not
like in China where poor people are accustomed to being submissive and meek.
This bit of dignity is just one of the benefits brought by a democratic
political system. Without the democratic political system to safeguard rights
it is not likely these three main conditions would exist. When poor people do
not have self-respect or opportunity, and they do not have the environment to
be taken care of, then they are in a hopeless situation and of course they rise
up and revolt, especially Chinese culture and tradition is one of the richest
cultures with rebel spirit.
(Written
in November 2007. Broadcasted by Radio Free Asia.)
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中文版
Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A314-W168
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A314-W168
Release
Date: November 25, 2007
发布日：2007年11月25日
Topic:
Two Major Conflicts in Current Chinese Society that Only Democracy Could
Resolve (Wei Jingsheng's Commentary on Radio Free Asia)
标题：只有民主体制能够解决中国社会现有的两大基本矛盾（魏京生在自由亚洲电台播出的评论）
Original
Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)
此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）
如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2007/report2007-11/WeiJS071125conflictsA314-W168.htm
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只有民主体制能够解决中国社会现有的两大基本矛盾
-- 魏京生
中共的十七大虽然让大非失望，但还是有一些和过去不同的内容。大家之所以失望，不是因为完全照搬老一套。而是因为没有大家所期望的民主化的内容。不仅没有民主化和进一步改革开放的新内容，而且有返回到旧时代的返祖感。这就让大家倍感失望。邓小平和江泽民的半吊子改革开放虽然让人们不够满意，虽然带来了很多难以解决的政治问题和社会问题,但毕竟是在走出毛泽东式的独裁专制的半路上。现在胡锦涛明显是在走回头路，这个方向大家都多多少少的感到了，只是由于统战部近年来大量收买了海外的媒体帮助他们造势。过去大家所信任的“出口转内销”的信息，也越来越不可信了。这就造成了很多无知的百姓被欺骗，误以为胡锦涛集团仍然在改革开放的道路上继续向前。
改革开放的前十年，也就是八十年代。只改经济不改政治的半吊子改革，就已经开始展现出它根本的弊病。这就是制造出两大基本矛盾，和由此产生的全面的社会问题和政治问题，并且阻碍改革开放继续下去。这两大基本矛盾就是；要求自由的市场经济和反对自由的一党专政的矛盾；以及在专制环境下必然导致财富的集中和大众的贫困。八十年代这两个矛盾的爆发，就是自由主义思潮的兴起。并且利用贫苦人民对腐败的痛恨，发起了八九年的六四民主运动。当时的统治集团能够用镇压的方法压制了矛盾的进一步扩大，是因为贫富差距还没有达到社会难以容忍的地步。仅仅是自由主义知识分子的不满，还不足以动摇军事独裁专制的统治。镇压起到了保护官僚资产阶级的作用，保护他们利用手中的权力谋取私利，侵吞公共财产。
九十年代以来，半吊子改革带来的两大基本矛盾不但没有缓解，反而发展到更加尖锐的地步。自由主义知识分子的一部分虽然被收买，被安抚了。但是劳苦大众的反抗却成十倍的增长。反抗的形式越来越激烈，反抗者的头脑也越来越清醒。反抗的领袖们也不太容易被误导了。官方所收买的温和派精英们的理论说教，越来越脱离人民大众的生活现实，遭到了人民普遍的唾弃。镇压和欺骗的两种手段都已经不能产生足够的效果。社会现实要求政治体制有相应的改变，以图缓解专制和贫富差距带来的爆炸性的压力。我们可以看到，即使在中共党内，也不断地发出了这种呼声。
但是中共内部显然还有另一种解释。官僚资产阶级不愿意放弃他们既得的巨大利益。他们的御用学者们就帮他们找出了一些不同于正常道理的歪理。针对老百姓的反抗，他们认为是政府太仁慈了，惯坏了暴民们，引起了暴民、刁民们的不切实际的幻想。针对贫富差距，他们解释成为老百姓不知道钱不是他们的，应该明确富人的产权，以避免暴民们产生不切实际的幻想。
遗憾的是，这一套歪理并不是什么新的发明，是几千年来统治者们说烂了的歪理，很难被贫苦大众所接受，也很难与马克思主义理论沟通。在完全没有理论基础的情况下出台的这一套歪理，非常需要有一个权威性的能糊弄人的外套。这就是胡锦涛集团使用“科学发展观”这个新名词的用意。科学给人以神秘的和权威的印象，而且不是人人都可以理解的。老百姓不得不接受。发展则包含着官僚资产阶级的模式。既然过去已经证明是发展了，就应该继续发展。其中并不包含为发展付出代价的人民贫困的问题。这就是“科学发展观”在现实的中国的现实的含义。
总之，中国社会现有的两大基本矛盾就是自由的市场经济和不自由的一党专政之间的矛盾；以及极端专制带来的极端富有的阶级和极端贫困的大众之间的矛盾。现在比较突出的，是贫富差距拉大到世界第一所带来的普遍的怨恨，造成了社会的不安全和动乱。
穷人的生存成了问题，就会有人采取极端的手段谋生，而不一定会顾及到别人的生命财产安全。个别的非法谋生汇集起来形成为有组织的非法谋生，就是黑社会的社会基础。遍布全国的、世界第一发达的黑社会组织，实际上是社会贫困的次生产品。和黑社会相映成趣的另一大景观，就是遍布全国城乡的腐败经济。堪称世界第一的吃、喝、嫖、赌带来的收入，竟然成为经济学家解释社会财富分配的理论依据。这说明一个庞大的、相对富裕的官僚资产阶级已经成型。用老百姓通俗的说法就是：中国存在着三个世界。
第一世界是大官僚资产阶级太子党。过的是资本主义天堂的生活。按官方统计，亿万富翁就有四千人左右。如果把大量存在的不公开收入计算进去，再加上他们的二奶三奶，这个阶级的人口大概是全国人口的万分之一。除了被他们派生出来的所谓“次级分配”的腐败经济以外，在直接产生的初级分配的价值中，他们占了将近一半。
还不到人口百分之五的所谓中产阶级的收入，可以说达到了小康的水平。他们的平均收入，也只是大官僚资产阶级的百分之一。这就是所谓的第二世界。
和全世界的情况稍有不同的是，中国的第三世界占了人口的百分之九十以上。不仅仅在农村，在所有的城市中，属于第三世界的贫民阶层也占了人口的百分之九十以上。第三世界的贫民和官僚资产阶级之间，不但没有共同的生存和受教育环境，甚至已经没有共同的语言。彼此的隔阂已经到了说话都说不到一起的地步。共同生活在同一块土地、同一个城市中的如此隔阂的人民之间，不产生怨恨和仇视几乎是不可能的。
在民主的社会中，阶级对立的情绪很少会发展到仇视的地步。主要有三个原因：
第一个也是最重要的原因，是自由的市场经济拥有与之相匹配的自由的社会体系。民主的政治体制最大限度的保障了人们的自由和人权。在这个前提下人们拥有几乎相同的机会。不平均的社会现实所受到的抱怨，也就大大地降低了。低到完全可以容忍的地步。
第二个原因是民主的政治保障了大多数人的意见占主导地位，政府的政策更多地倾向于占多数的穷人。用大白话说，就是杀富济贫已经不是侠客们的工作，而是官方行为。因此范围更大，也更有效果，也不必再去杀人了。可以和平理性非暴力地进行了。
第三个原因是在机会均等和杀富济贫的环境中，大部分才华并不出众的普通人，通过自己的努力也能进入到所谓的中产阶级的行列中。占人口多数的庞大的中产阶级主导着这个国家的生活方式。使得阶级差别缩小了很多，人们不会觉得贫富之间有互相仇视的必要。
在美国，我遇到的大多数情况，都是贫富之间笑眯眯的互致问候，热烈交谈。穷人在富人面前同样骄傲地昂着头大声说笑，不像在中国那样习惯性的低眉顺眼、低声下气。这一份尊严，就是民主政治带来的一系列好处之一。没有民主政治制度作保障，就不可能有这三个主要的条件。穷人在没有自尊，没有机会，也得不到照顾的环境下。身临绝境，当然会起来造反。何况中国的文化传统是最富于造反精神的文化。
（写于2007年11月。在自由亚洲电台播出。）
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