有限性与有效性:基层社会治理中传统乡规民约价值的扬弃与再造

Finiteness and Validity:Sublation and Reconstruction of Social Governance at the Grassroots Level in Traditional Rural Regulations

作为一种本土化的社会治理资源,传统乡规民约在基层社会治理中不仅承担着政府"有形之手"的治理功能,而且发挥着市场"无形之手"规范引导与"第三方力量"组织协调的重要功能,是维护乡土社会良序美俗和社会稳定的"地方法"。但是,随着我国市场化、城镇化发展的不断加速和乡土社会秩序重构的加快,传统乡规民约面临着治理理念落后、合法性不足、治理效果日渐式微、手段单一落后、治理效果不具通约性等现实困境和治理限度,严重阻碍了乡规民约在基层社会治理中价值与功能的发挥。为此,扬弃和再造传统乡规民约,推动乡规民约与时代精神、法律规范、基层自治和政府治理等现代治理文明有效衔接,积极回应当下我国农村基层社会治理所面临的新问题和新变化,显得尤为紧迫和重要。

A village regulation and agreement is a binding code of conduct which has been spontaneously formed by villagers in their social life and practices. It is also a kind of ＂local knowledge＂ which implements social governance by means of indoctrination, ethics and related punishment mechanism. Village regulations and agreements have played a significant role in the construction and governance of the traditional Chinese social order, and have become an indispensable key element in maintaining the orderly development of the rural society. The village regulations and agreements with the social governance function not only appear in the literature about Chinese rural social studies, such as Liang Shuming＇s ＂Ethic-centered Ideology＂ and Fei Xiaotong＇s ＂ Differential Mode of Order＂, but also finds its place in the Chinese traditional ＂countryside politics and village governance＂. Today, with the rapid development of industrialization and urbanization, it is of great theoretical value and practical significance to discover the value of traditional village regulations and agreements, to sublate and reconstruct a new type of village regulation and agreement in accordance with the social development of new countryside in China, to make the ＂village regulations and agreements＂ play a vital role in the modern grass-roots social governance, which will in turn contribute to solving the three rural problems and promoting the modernization of the means of social governance. At present, the research of village regulations and agreements can be roughly divided into two lines of reasoning： ＂the theory of social contract＂ and ＂the theory of national will＂. ＂The theory of social contract＂ emphasizes the ＂spontaneity＂ and ＂local knowledge＂ of village regulation and agreement, claiming that the village regulation and agreement is a kind of spontaneous self-governing rule of the grass-roots society, and as a kind of conventional ＂local law＂, it maintains a harmonious and orderly life for the villagers who share the common ethical culture and living habit. On the other hand, ＂the theory of national will＂ stresses their ＂legality＂ and ＂common knowledge＂, claiming that any village regulation and agreement is a kind of local self-regulating behaviors within the limits of state laws and policies, and is the effective extension of state law and policies in the rural society which essentially embodies the will of state power. However, both theories have coincidentally incorporated the value of village regulation and agreement as a localized social governance resource, although they have their own emphasis in research ideas and academic purport. Therefore, as a sort of localized social governance resources, traditional village regulations and agreements not only perform the managerial function of the government, or the so-called ＂visible hand＂, but also performs an important function of the ＂invisible hand＂ of the market in regulation and guidance, as well as the function of the ＂third-party force＂ of the market in organization and coordination. Therefore, it is the ＂local law＂ which maintains the good orders, fine traditions and social stability of the rural society. Nonetheless, with the accelerated development of Chinese marketization and urbanization and quickening reconstitution of rural social order, the traditional village regulations and agreements are faced with a series of realistic difficulties and governance limits, such as the plight in governance concept, legitimacy, governance effect, means, and commensurability of governance effect. All these drawbacks seriously hinder their exertion of the governance value and function at the grass-root level. Therefore, it is very urgent and significant to sublate and reconstruct the traditional village regulations and agreements. At the same time, it is also very important for the government to promote the effective integration of village regulations and agreements with the times, with the legal norms, grass-roots autonomy and government governance and with other modern governance civilization, and actively respond to new problems and new changes in our rural grass-roots social governance.