革命策略与传统制约:中共民间借贷政策新解

Revolutionary Strategies and the Constraints of Tradition:A New Interpretation of the Communist Party of China's Policies Concerning Informal Credit

1937-1949年中共华北抗日根据地、解放区的民间借贷政策先后经历了三个阶段:新债旧债一律减息;旧债继续减息,新债利率自由;废除封建旧债,新债利率继续自由。中共革命策略的实施减轻乃至废除了长期压在农民身上的债务负担,同时也由于惯行力量的约束,造成了农民的借贷困难。1942年中共采取新债利率自由议定的温和措施,借贷政策由此具有了革命、妥协与调和的多面性。但革命的一面总是处于压倒之势,农民借不到债的现象一直存在。这体现了革命策略与承继传统的内在矛盾和困难选择。

During 1939-1949, the Communist Party of China's (CPC) policies concerning informal credit in the Anti-Japanese Base Areas and Liberated Areas developed in three stages: (1) reducing interest on both old and new loans; (2) further reducing interest on old loans while allowing the interest rate for new loans to be set freely; and (3) repudiating old loans under the feudal system but continuing to allow the interest rate of new loans to be set freely. In the course of this historical evolution, this revolutionary strategy of the CPC relieved or even removed the burden of debt which had long weighed on the peasants. However, these strategies also created difficulties for peasants in getting loans because of the constraints of convention. In 1942, the CPC a-dopted a moderate policy of allowing interest rates for new loans to be set freely. Its loan policy thus simultaneously combined elements of revolution, compromise and conciliation. However, the element of revolution was dominant, and it remained difficult for peasants to get loans. This contradiction reflects the inherent tension and difficult choices between revolutionary policies and tradition.