Economic Opportunity,Civil Society and Political Liberty

This essay explores the dilemmas associated with ‘squaring the circle’ of wealth creation, social cohesion and political freedom in the OECD countries. As the metaphor of square and circle implies, these three essential goals of development are not necessarily compatible and may even conflict with each other, particularly at a time when advancing globalization creates perverse choices. To become and remain competitive in international markets requires a flexible use of resources which threatens social cohesion and political freedom in a number of ways. After analysing these tensions, the essay concludes with six proposals for improving the likelihood that a workable balance between prosperity, democracy and social cohesion can be maintained in advanced industrial societies.     

Classic Lowland Maya Political Organization: A Review

This paper reviews recent archaeological research concerning Classic Maya lowland political systems (ca. A.D. 250–1000). It focuses specifically on (1) subsistence practices revealed through the analysis of prehistoric climate, available resources, agricultural technologies, and diet; (2) population distribution, density, and size revealed through the analysis of settlement practices and architectural function; (3) social differentiation and interaction revealed through the analysis of burial practices, diet and health, architecture, and production, consumption, and exchange patterns; and (4) ancient Maya political economy (how it was funded) revealed through the analysis of community organization, ritual activities, the Classic Maya collapse, and warfare. It finally ends with a brief discussion of the future of Maya archaeology. A key factor that recurs throughout this review is the noticeable amount of variability that existed—varied resources, subsistence strategies, settlement practices, and social and political systems. An understanding of this variability is the key to appreciate fully the Classic Maya.     

Counter‐terrorism and the Politics of Aid: Civil Society Responses in Kenya

Against the backdrop of terrorist attacks in 1998 and 2002, Kenya has come under pressure from aid donors and diplomatic circles to co‐operate in achieving the political and military objectives of the War on Terror. The Kenyan government has received legal, technical and financial support to implement new counter‐terrorism structures. However, while these have raised concerns around human rights and the ability of people to come together and organize on shared interests, the response of civil society in Kenya has been muted. It is mainly human rights campaigners, lawyers, Muslim organizations and leaders, and some politicians that have opposed proposed anti‐terrorism legislation. Even fewer groups have spoken out against the government's participation in a regional rendition programme in the Horn of Africa supported by the United States. This weak response reflects the significant ethnic and regional fragmentation that prevails in the country. This article critically examines the impacts of counter‐terrorism in Kenya and civil society responses to these in a shifting political landscape.     

社会规模与早期政治权力结构的演化

我们曾经提出,在古代,规模是决定一个社会政治权力结构性质的最为重要的因素;规模大的社会,都实行专制政治;只有在规模小的社会里,才发现有非专制政治的存在。但是,怎么解释,在同样范围内规模的不同性质的社会,出现不同性质政治权力结构的现象呢？本文认为,在决定政治权力结构性质方面,规模虽然是最为重要的因素,但并非惟一的因素,并且,它的重要性主要表现在框架性或者底层平台性作用上,这需要一个长时间段才能够观察得到。在历史发展的具体过程中,在某个空间点与时间点上,完全可以是其他某个或者某些因素起着决定性的作用。此外,应该注意,在决定政体形态意义上,用来判断一个社会规模“大”或者“小”的标准,是随着人类控制自然与社会的能力的变化而变化的。     

Political Alignments,Political Economy and Political Change in Australia 1890-1940

This paper explores the applicability of class-coalitional explanations to broad patterns of public policy in Australia at the turn of the century and during the Great Depression. It argues that this approach, with its strong comparative emphasis, does shed light on the 'historic compromise' between capital and labour established after Federation and provides some useful hypotheses about Australia's failure to 'break with orthodoxy' in the 1930s. In particular, it provides an important comparative framework for understanding the nature and role of the labour movement in Australian history, and a corrective to prevailing interpretations. The paper also argues, though, that evidence from the Australian case calls into question simple factor-endowment models of political change.     

中国特色政党制度与社会的关系

政党与社会的关系是政党政治的基本关系之一。政党制度作为政党政治的实现形式,是社会不断发展的产物,同时它又对社会发展产生着重大影响。在我国,中国特色政党制度与社会主义社会的关系,除具有一般政党制度与社会的关系外,还具体表现为中国特色政党制度与社会利益群体、社会资源和社会意识形态的关系。     

敦煌文献中的白话禅诗

本全面地介绍和分析了敦煌献中的白话禅诗。章认为,本用于演唱目的而创撰的通俗化佛教歌辞,实有必要作进一步的搜求补充;敦煌佛教歌辞的语言、白掺杂,内容丰富,其中中国化特征最为明显的是歌咏父母恩德的诗偈和山歌性质的《山僧歌》等。敦煌佛教歌辞和其他形式的诗体中。有相当部分的白话诗体现出了禅宗南北两派意涵,以及一般意义上的禅的观念。而这些,都应该视为研究唐五代白话禅诗的庞大而宝贵的资料。纳入中国俗学、特别是中国佛教俗学的研究范围之中。     

Voting Technology,Political Institutions,Legal Institutions and Civil Society: A Study of the Hypothesis of Cultural Lag in Reverse

The 2000 Presidential election was plagued by butterfly ballots and ‘pregnant chads’. Electronic voting systems, lacking verifiable paper trails that are subject to possible fraud, promise to wreak havoc with the 2004 Presidential election. There is a great diversity of systems of voting technology in the 50 states: from paper ballots, lever‐operated machines and punch cards to optical scanners and electronic systems. Associated with each technology is an estimated error rate. The underlying theory of this paper was set forth by William F. Ogburn in his famous book entitled Social Change, published in 1922. Dividing culture into material and non‐material elements, Ogburn argued that non‐material elements lag behind material elements. His explanation for this lag is that technology, which underlies material culture, changes at a faster rate than elements of non‐material culture. Obgurn did not contemplate the possibility of a reverse lag, viz., technology lagging behind non‐material culture. In analyzing the anomalous relationships between voting technology, political institutions and legal institutions, a striking instance of a ‘reverse cultural lag’ is discerned. To eliminate the phenomenon of the reverse cultural lag, there is a need for a federally‐funded program of a uniform, state‐of‐the‐art voting technology, plus an amended Help America Vote Act, to implement the innovations in the 3,114 counties. The complex problems reviewed in this paper point to a vexing question: how do we educate an electorate in a democratic society—such as the United States in the twenty‐first century—to be responsible for ensuring that periodically‐elected representatives implement the will of the people?     

论话本小说对清官的反思

自从《老残游记》自评提出“有揭清官之恶者,自《老残游记》始”的观点后,学人们纷纷探讨到底是哪本小说始“揭清官之恶”。实际上,“揭清官之恶”、对清官的反思从来不是哪本小说突然产生的,它是一个前有萌芽后有繁衍的发展过程。在此过程中,话本小说扮演了非常重要的角色,提出了两个命题:一是为民作主的官员不一定是清官;二是清官不一定为民作主。前者从侧面反思了清官思维的狭隘性,后者从正面反思了清官思维的荒谬性,共同使反思走向深化。当其它文学热情地塑造清官神话时,话本小说对清官的反思具有重要的意义。     

在一个国家和多元文化主义的激荡中成长--从公民社会模式看澳大利亚华人的参政空间

九十年代后期澳大利亚华人参政形式发生了结构性转变,由原来的相对散漫而少有华人参政,转变成为华人主动集会结社投身政治.本文认为,这种转变是在特定的历史时空,由华人社群与澳洲主流社会的变化互相激荡而产生的.本文利用公民社会理论来建构一个看待移民社会政治参与的参考架构,用海外华人的视角来审视澳洲华人发展史,讨论九十年代后期澳洲极端派反移民势力的兴起,以及对华人社会的影响.笔者认为,澳洲华人社会这个转变提供了一个华人参政的良好典范,即以少数族裔身份在公民社会中参与政治活动,从而改变主流社会的思维.     

Vernacular culture and the place of folk music

This paper focuses on an evening event at the Community Centre, Jacksdale, Nottinghamshire, UK in 2001 featuring a group called The Chase, performing folk music and dance from France and other European countries. It raises a series of issues concerning the relationships between folk culture and modern everyday life. These questions intersect with debates concerning authenticity, tradition, working-class culture, community and sense of place. The paper develops the concept of vernacular culture within a dynamic and plural conception of place as a means of theoretically locating folk music within modern everyday life.