China's Economic Policy Today: The New State Activism

A noted American authority and investigator of China's economy outlines the general features of the ongoing reorientation of Chinese economic policymaking toward increased state activism, which has gained momentum in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. An initial section of the paper describes the marketization and privatization initiatives of China's late reform period to provide a baseline against which to measure the subsequent shift toward increased state intervention and guidance in the economy. The author traces the shift in three critical policy arenas (social policy, state-owned enterprises, and industrial and technology policy) and demonstrates how state involvement in each intensified during the global financial crisis. He then proceeds to explore the implications of accelerated state activism in the future, identifying potential rewards as well as large risks. Among the latter are macroeconomic imbalances, a "softening" of budget constraints, difficulties in recognizing and terminating unsuccessful economic programs, and tensions with trading partners.     

对改革开放以来我国文化产业政策绩效的几点思考

产业政策绩效问题一直是我国产业理论研究的难点和薄弱环节。本文回顾了我国文化产业政策的实践历程,对我国文化产业政策的绩效进行了比较系统的分析评估,认为我国文化产业政策虽取得了一定成效,但总的效果并不理想。作者在分析了其中原因后指出,要提高文化产业政策绩效,必须适应形势的要求对我国文化产业政策作出必要的调整。     

‘Culture’, ‘sustainable development’ and cultural policy: a contrarian view

Abstract

This essay offers a critical analysis of the ‘culture and sustainable development’ discourse, notably among cultural activists and in actually existing cultural policy. It interrogates the utility of the narrative, seeks to uncover the semantic manoeuvres it employs and challenges the conventional wisdom it represents. The essay first explores the itinerary of the ductile notion of ‘sustainability’, the ways in which it has been stretched far beyond the original intent of those who coined the term, and identifies the conceptual discontents that this semantic multiplication has entailed. It hypothesizes that precisely because the term ‘sustainable’ and its derivatives are so acceptable and malleable at the same time, they have been easy to yoke to the bandwagon of the many-faceted and totalizing process that is ‘development’, allowing many different actors to project their interests, hopes, and aspirations under this composite banner. The essay then analyses the campaign to make culture ‘the fourth pillar of sustainability’ under the banner of the movement called ‘Agenda 21 for Culture’. It concludes with a plea for a return to the original ecological focus of the term ‘sustainability’ – notably as regards climate change – and outlines some cultural policy responses such a focus can and should generate.     

The retreat from neoliberalism that was not: Australia’s Building the Education Revolution

This article examines the durability of neoliberalism in the face of crisis by analysing the Building the Education Revolution (BER), a key part of the Australian Labor Government’s stimulus measures in response to the global financial crisis in 2009. The fiscal stimulus measures enacted by governments in the aftermath of the crisis led many commentators to herald the end of neoliberalism. By examining the design of the BER, however, this article finds that one of the key policy tools of neoliberalism – the outsourcing of public sector capacity – was extended through such stimulus programs. The article argues that a materialist analysis of neoliberalism is better able to understand this phenomenon than the recent tendency to analyse neoliberalism in ideational terms.     

Environment and Cultural Heritage in China: Introduction

The transformation of the natural and built environment over the past three decades has left China with a legacy of environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity. The loss of cultural heritage, including cultural forms associated with the natural ecology, has been just as dramatic. The three studies in this special focus section of Asian Studies Review explore significant issues in environmental conservation, cultural heritage, and grassroots activism in urban and rural China, with an emphasis on the relationship between the natural environment, the transmission of traditional cultural forms, and localised forms of agency or activism. As discussed here, while China's discourse on these issues is strongly influenced by global norms, different regions of China are developing their own individual responses to environmental conservation, the protection of biodiversity, and the ongoing transmission of endangered cultural forms.     

文化与地理环境

本文从文化的概念入手,深入论述了文化与地理环境的双向同构关系,分析了地理环境对民族传统文化风貌、文化的地域特征和文化产品特色等具体影响,指出了研究文化与地理环境关系的重要意义。     

YOUNG ACTIVISTS IN MUDDY BOOTS

The Swedish youth organization Fältbiologerna was founded in 1947 with the mission to inspire learning about nature through outdoor activities. Since then, the members have stayed true to their slogan ‘keep your boots muddy’ through engaging in bird watching and forest excursions; however, in the late 1960s and early 1970s – a period that environmental historians refer to as the ‘ecological turn’ – the organization’s activities were extended to also include political activism. Fältbiologerna increasingly evolved into a fertile terrain for young environmentalists. In this article, we explore how this Swedish branch of modern environmental youth activism came about. Based on a close reading of the members’ journal, Fältbiologen, between 1959 and 1974, we identify four key characteristics that were communicated in the journal during the years of study: adventurous, knowledgeable, influential, and radical. We demonstrate that Fältbiologerna took an increasingly radical position and began to engage in environmental debates and actions, while still holding on to ideals of learning through spending time in nature. Participation in these different activities shaped the young members into environmentalists.     

五四"启蒙运动"说的历史考辨

在各种关于五四新文化运动的定性中,“启蒙运动”说无疑是最为常见的比附之一。事实上,最晚在20世纪20年代末30年代初,这种比附在左翼文化人中就已经较为流行。但是,并不能简单地把“启蒙运动”阐释视为“马克思主义方案”。出于现实革命斗争的需要,共产党人对“启蒙运动”说的认同是有限度的。而且,五四启蒙传统的丰富多元性决定了用“启蒙”来描述五四历史认识主体的复杂性,以及他们所阐释出的“启蒙”内涵的丰富多元性。     

“文化主体属于人民”思想是中国共产党文化思想的基石

中国共产党在90年长期的革命和建设实践中,逐步深化完善了“人民当家作主”和“文化主体属于人民”的思想,这对中华文化的发展,融入现代化是一伟大贡献。 在当前的社会条件下,这一观念得到了进一步的升华。由政治概念发展为法律观念,由执政理念发展为国家层面的价值理念。通过对这一问题的梳理,指出中国共产党在观念上,在实践中,都必须遵循人民主体的原则,把顺应人民的道义作为主流文化的历史使命。     

二战前后英国工党外交政策的转变

第二次世界大战前后,由于国际格局的变迁,英国工党的外交政策发生了很大变化。理想主义是战前工党外交政策的主调,在国际问题的处理上它信奉集体安全政策,主张发挥国际联盟的作用,反对重整军备。经过第二次世界大战,工党逐渐接受了丘吉尔战时政府的现实主义外交原则,战后初期工党执政后,在外交政策方面摒弃了过去的理想主义,把现实的国家利益作为外交政策的重点。工党政府推动美国参加欧洲防务,借助美国的力量建立起欧洲均势,满足了国家安全的现实需要。在非殖民化问题上,工党政府同样从现实主义出发,撤出了印度和巴勒斯坦。从战前的理想主义到战后的现实主义,工党外交理念的变化在某种程度上反映了这一时期英国外交的演变过程。     

浅析中国政府在中印边界争端中的危机处理

1962年前后,印度政府在中印边境地区推行的“前进政策”,不仅挑战了新中国外交政策的根本原则,而且严重威胁了中国西南边境的安全与稳定,使得中印两国围绕边界问题的争端发展成为一场国家关系危机。中国政府应对这场危机的决策过程,既体现了危机处理的一般规律,又反映了中国领导人进行危机决策的一些独特的原则和方式。     

论撒拉族商业文化——概念、形成环境及功能

撒拉族是我国少数民族中一个独特的民族,在我国10个信仰伊斯兰教的民族中,撒拉族的商业发展令人瞩目,根本原因在于商业实践背后的商业文化在起着巨大作用。什么是撒拉族商业文化,它形成的环境是什么,又具有什么样的功能,将一一揭开这些问题的答案。