ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B
主办:中国心理学会
   中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理学报 ›› 2023, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (3): 406-420.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2023.00406

• "中国人应对历史危机的心理特征与行为表现"专栏 • 上一篇    下一篇

“均”与“寡”阶段性变动下中国居民公平感的变迁

王俊秀1,2(), 刘洋洋3   

  1. 1中国社会科学院社会学研究所, 北京 100732
    2内蒙古师范大学心理学院, 呼和浩特 011517
    3滨州学院马克思主义学院, 山东 滨州 256600
  • 收稿日期:2021-06-07 发布日期:2022-12-22 出版日期:2023-03-25
  • 通讯作者: 王俊秀 E-mail:wang_jx@cass.org.cn
  • 基金资助:
    教育部哲学社会科学研究重大课题攻关项目(21JZD038)

Equalitarianism and wealth in China: Changes in perceptions of fairness

WANG Junxiu1,2(), Liu Yangyang3   

  1. 1Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China
    2School of Psychology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Huhhot 011517, China
    3School of Marxism, Binzhou University, Binzhou 256600, China
  • Received:2021-06-07 Online:2022-12-22 Published:2023-03-25
  • Contact: WANG Junxiu E-mail:wang_jx@cass.org.cn

摘要:

利用中国综合社会调查和中国社会状况综合调查重复截面数据, 通过年龄−时期−队列模型对居民公平感的时代变化进行分析。研究发现公平感在年龄上呈“J”型趋势; 从时期效应看, 2008年公平感较高, 2010~2013年在低谷徘徊, 2015年以后又开始回升; 从队列视角看, 建国前出生队列公平感偏低, 建国后初期的队列相对较高, “50”后有所下滑, 从“60”后开始公平感持续走低, 到“80”后跌入低谷, 但“90”后又开始升高。从1949年前后“寡且不均”到建国初期阶段的“寡且均”, 再到改革开放40年快速经济增长下“不寡但不均”的社会变迁过程影响了居民的公平感。

关键词: 公平感, 均贫富, 社会变迁, HAPC模型

Abstract:

The eradication of absolute poverty is an important measure of progress in achieving social equality in China, where common prosperity is the main social goal. However, since the founding of modern-day China, it has not only changed from poverty to wealth, but also from addressing imbalances between the rich and poor to an uneven distribution of wealth. The great changes seen over the past century in China have impacted people who have adhered to the idea of equality between the rich and the poor for thousands of years, resulting in a psychological crisis of fairness. A sense of fairness is a subjective response to social equality, which is bound to fluctuate with changes in the distribution of wealth. Therefore, combined with dramatic social changes in recent decades, this paper discusses changes in residents’ sense of fairness and explores the path to resolving this equity crisis.

Based on the data of the Comprehensive Survey of Chinese Society (CGSS) conducted by Renmin University in China and the survey of social conditions conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CSS) from 2006 to 2017, this study examines cross-sectional data spanning ten years. The hierarchical age-period-cohort model (HAPC) is used to analyze trends in changes in Chinese people’s sense of fairness in three time dimensions: age, period, and birth cohort.

The study found that sense of fairness has a significant time effect in China. (1) The sense of fairness among middle-aged adults was lower than among younger and older adults. (2) The sense of fairness was high in 2008, trended lower from 2010 to 2013, and started to rise again after 2015. (3) Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the sense of fairness of the birth cohort was low. The sense of fairness of the birth cohort was high in the early days of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, but it has been lower since the birth cohort of 1953. In the early 1960s, the sense of fairness in the birth cohort rebounded, but after that, it continued to decline. The sense of fairness was the lowest after 1980, but there has been a sharp upward trend since 1990. (4) There are significant differences in perceptions of fairness between urban and rural areas and level of education.

This study found that although economic growth has been significant, wealth distribution has not been equitable, and that economic growth alone cannot improve social equity. These two variables jointly affect people’s sense of fairness. Under certain conditions, people do not suffer from scarcity but suffer from inequality. Addressing scarcity is the basis for improving the sense of social fairness. If the distribution system is unjust, people’s sense of fairness will be even lower. After eradicating poverty, a wealth distribution system would have obvious benefits for improving the sense of fairness. This conclusion is instructive for the implementation of China’s common prosperity policy.

Key words: sense of fairness, equal distribution of wealth, social change, hierarchical age-period-cohort model