天价彩礼何以可能:一种基于劳动激励与消费机制的建构论阐释

Why is the High Bride Price Possible:A Constructivist Interpretation Based on Labor Incentive and Consumption Mechanism

近年来高价彩礼现象屡见不鲜,在彩礼上涨过程中宏观层面的作用不容忽视。在丰富彩礼劳动补偿说和财产转移说基础上,以河北省农村为例,从机制变迁视角揭示了彩礼上涨的结构性因素,解释机制变迁带来的相关行动者对于彩礼意义的重新解读。新中国成立后我国劳动激励机制由劳动爱国转向劳动致富,消费机制由爱国节约转向消费主义。由此带来彩礼上涨的物质基础是个人收入和消费水平提高,且产生个体之间差距,彩礼成为弥补收入和消费差距的重要来源;带来彩礼上涨的心理基础是追求个人收入和消费成为合理诉求,彩礼成为满足需求的重要来源。两种机制的转型推动着承载了劳动收入差异补偿功能和消费能力转移功能的彩礼由仪式化向世俗化转变。天价彩礼的形成不仅是个体主观选择的结果,也是社会机制建构的结果,需要从宏观的、综合的视角进行理解。

In recent years the high bride price is common,and the role of macro level can’t be ignored in the process of bride gifts rising. Based on labor compensation and property transfer theory,this paper takes the rural areas of Hebei province as an example,reveals the structural factors of the bride price increasing from the perspective of mechanism change and explains the reinterpretation of the significance of bride price by relevant actors brought by mechanism change. After the founding of the PRC,the orientation of China’s labor system changed from patriotic labor motivation to self-motivation,and the orientation of the consumption system changed from patriotic economy to consumerism. Hence,the material basis of the increase in bride price is the improvement of personal income and consumption level,which creates a gap between individuals,and bride price becomes an important source of bridging the gap between income and consumption;the psychological basis for the increase of bride price is that the pursuit of personal income and consumption become a reasonable demand and bride price has become an important source to meet the demand. The transformation of the two mechanisms promotes the transition from ritual to secularization of the bride price,which bears the compensation function of labor income difference and the transfer function of consumption ability. The high bride price is not only the result of individual subjective choice,but also the result of the construction of social mechanisms,which needs to be understood from a macro and comprehensive perspective.