中国城市化进程中的公民社会实践

The Practice of the Civil Society in the Process of Urbanization

伴随城市化而来的多样化变迁,对过去国家垄断需求满足的体制和结构提出了严峻的挑战,由此为公民社会的滋生、发育和成长提供了一定的空间。仔细探究过去三十多年中国城市化进程,不难发现,不仅卷入城市化的人群庞大,而且方式多样,从而也出现各种各样的公民社会实践,最显著的表现就是一些原先没有的民间社会组织涌现,以满足多样化城市化人群的多样性需求,比如由农村流动人口自己组织的维权组织、商会、同乡会,还有一些城市居民组建了一些民间组织,去帮助作为弱势人群的农民工如何适应城市社会,提升他们的发展能力。日益增多的民间组织首先是弥补政府职能转变滞后带来的服务失缺,因此更多的是与政府合作;其次在一定程度上也是获得与政府、企业老板和城市居民有一定对话能力,以更好促进利益均衡和社会公正。正是在这样的带有一定张力的合作中,展现出城市化中的公民社会实践活动。但是由于现行体制的局限以及中国公民社会实践时间短等原因,中国公民社会的成长还比较缓慢,还没有成型。不管如何,公民社会实践应是和谐社会建设的应有之义。

With the urbanization developing in China, there rise various demands and related multiple changes. This poses a great challenge to the governmental institute which used to monopoly the chances to meet demand in the past. However, the situation also provides certain space for the civil society to grow and develop in China. In the past thirty years of urbanization, there have been a big group of people who are involved in the urbanization in many ways and many kinds of civil society practice have come into being as a result of the urbanization. For example, there appear some kinds of folk organizations that never existed before, such as the rural mobile people’s organizations that protect their rights by themselves, commercial associations, countrymen association and other folk organizations formed by urban residents. All these folk organizations help the migrant workers to adapt to and integrate into the urban society and improve their capabilities to survive and compete. At the same time, they are a supplement to the public services to the rural migrants in the transformation process of the government functions. Certainly, they can empower the migrant workers to bargain with the enterprises and governments for their interests and rights. But the civil society is growing very slowly because of the restriction under current institute and a short history of the civil society in China. Therefore the civil society is still immature, waiting to grow up. Anyway, the civil practice is one important part of the harmonious society construction.