“稻米理论”:集体主义及其经济解理

“Rice Theory”:Collectivism and Economic Cleavage

“稻米理论”基于我国“南稻北麦”的种植格局,揭示了南方集体主义文化与北方个人主义文化的生成机理。按照主流经济学理论,集体主义文化往往会抑制经济发展,而个体主义文化能够有效激励市场缔约与经济增长,这显然难以解释中国南北经济差距不断扩大的现实。文章通过对全国9省不同种植区农地流转市场的交易特征进行考察,试图对“稻米理论”中集体主义的文化含义予以阐释和拓展。研究发现,相比于旱作区,水田稻作区农户的农地流转尽管存在交易对象熟人化、本地化的特征,但农户更倾向于选择正式合约,契约化程度更高。“关系交易”有助于降低交易成本,“契约交易”则有助于扩展市场范围。同时,稻作文化具有外溢性,农户更热衷于创业活动,也更倾向于签订劳务合同。由此证明,水田稻作经营虽然构筑了村社内部的关系交易、集体意识与一致性行动,但同时也蕴含着交易信任、合作文化与契约型行为秩序的基因。总之,合作秩序的生成、存续与拓展,需要隐性契约和规则秩序加以匹配,集体主义精神是催生契约精神、诱导市场化发育的重要文化土壤。

Based on the Chinese traditional planting pattern of“rice in the south and wheat in the north”,“Rice Theory”reveals the different formation mechanism of the collectivism culture in the south and the individualism in the north.According to the mainstream economic theories,collectivism culture tends to inhibit economic development,while individualism culture can effectively stimulate market contracting and economic growth.Obviously,this point is difficult to explain the reality of the widening economic gap between North and South China.This paper investigates the trading features in farmland circulation in 9 provinces in China,attempts to explain and expand the cultural meaning of“Rice Theory”.The research finds that,compared with that of dry farming areas,farmers in rice farming areas,though prefer local acquaintance transaction in farmland circulation,they are more inclined to have formal contracts--a higher degree of contracting,“acquaintance transaction”helps to reduce the trading cost while“contract transaction”helps to expand the market scope.Further evidence shows that,the rice farming culture has spillover effects,and farmers are keen on entrepreneurial activities and are more inclined to sign labor contracts indicating farmers in rice farming fields have a stronger contracting and market-oriented spirit.The article also argues that farmers in the rice farming areas have constructed the collective and consistent action consciousness within the village community,and they also shaped the genes of transaction trust,cooperative culture and contractual behavior order.This paper emphasizes that the formation,survival and expansion of cooperative order requires the matching of implicit contracts and rules and order,and the spirit of collectivism is an important cultural soil for nurturing the spirit of contract and inducing the development of marketization.