Abstract
Quan concludes the book by summarizing the main findings of his analysis and some potential contributions to the Weberian tradition. He first distinguishes the character of the Chinese version of governance in comparison with some popular models of governance in the recent global trends of government reform. Then, he takes stock of all theoretical issues to reflect their significance for the possible updating of the Weberian tradition. This is a legitimate and promising question, since it is the original requirement of the methodology of ideal types, proposed by Weber himself. Finally, he suggests a potential research agenda for pursuing a contextual theory of governance in the context of Chinese transitional politics. This valuable task allows us to imagine the future of governance ideas with reference to deepening neoliberalization in China.
Here are priests: but although they are my enemies, pass them quietly and with sleeping swords! Even among them there are heroes; many of them have suffered too much: —so they want to make others suffer…But my blood is related to theirs; and I want withal to see my blood honoured in theirs.
Nietzsche, 1883–1891
The quotation is from the latest English version. See Nietzsche, Federick. 2006. Thus Spake Zarathustra. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 69–70.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
In another setting, Barzelay regards the old paradigm as a loose family of ideas, like the new one he proposed. See Barzelay (1992, pp. 116–117). However, there is still a disparity between the definition of paradigm he draws from various social-scientific sources and his own usage of the term in the analysis. In fact, he appears to emphasize the normative aspect of a paradigm and thus sees the bureaucratic paradigm as no more than a set of value principles. See Barzelay (Ibid, p. 178 n.9; p. 214 n.12, also p. 118 Table Three).
- 3.
The NPM authors often find the problems of the old paradigm as early as the period of the Great Society in the 1960s and 1970s when some particular social groups (in the NPM view) first became aware of the underlying diseases of their government. See, for example, Barzelay (1992, pp. 6–7).
- 4.
- 5.
It may be worth noting here that Peters (2001b) expresses a similar point of view in a more prophetic manner:
Most governments in the world face pressures, either psychological or more tangible, to adopt the modern canon of administration in the form of NPM. For [CEE and Latin America], those pressures are likely to do more harm than good. Despite the appeal of ideas such as deregulation and flexibility, governments attempting to build both effective administration and democracy might require much greater emphasis on formality, rules and strong ethical standards. The values of efficiency and effectiveness are important but in the short run not so crucial as creating probity and responsibility. Once a so-called Weberian administrative system is institutionalized, then it may make sense to consider how best to move from that system towards a more “modern” system of PA (p. 176).
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
See Pollitt and Bouckaert (2011, pp. 21–23) for more detailed elaboration.
- 9.
- 10.
See Zeitlin (1968, p. 120) for a discussion of these methodological issues. Our concern here is more practical.
- 11.
- 12.
As we discussed above, the misunderstanding originates partly from Weber’s ambiguous expression of bureaucracy as a seemingly general concept. But this mistake also stems from a partial selection of his statements and can be corrected by a more intensive reading of his works.
- 13.
See, for instance, Osborne and Gaebler (1999).
- 14.
- 15.
The same observation is true concerning the reform strategies because their influences are often evaluated by ideological assumptions rather than actual outcomes:
Possibly, there has been little felt need to examine assumptions about the consequences of administrative reform because many reforms has been driven by strong ideological convictions or even a doctrinaire faith in what is the ideal organization and role of public administration in the economy and society. Yet it is also difficult to identify the exact effects of organizational structures, and a weak factual basis leaves room for strong ideological convictions (Olsen 2008, p.8).
- 16.
Refer to Giddens’s detailed comments on this issue (1995, pp. 37–38).
- 17.
The quoted comments are available at http://www.economist.com/news/china/21697266-keep-party-and-public-line-xi-jinping-using-marxist-classics-return-correct, accessed on 30 August 2016. See also his article on the Chinese politics under the Xi-Li regime, available at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/08/13/china-superpower-mr-xi/, accessed on 30 August 2016.
- 18.
- 19.
Refer to the special column in the People’s Daily, “Treat Correctly the Two Historical Periods before and after the Reform and Opening,” 8 November 2013, available at http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/1108/c1001-23471419.html, accessed on 15 August 2016. See also the follow-up column in the Guangming Daily “The Political Significance of ‘Two Undeniables,’” 7 May 2013, available at http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2013/0507/c49150-21388868.html, accessed on 15 August 2016.
- 20.
An English-language version of “Document Number 9” can be found at www.chinafile.com/document-9-chinafile-translation, accessed on 15 August 2016. See also see Raymond Li, “Seven Subjects Off Limits for Teaching, Chinese Universities Told,” South China Morning Post, 10 May 2013, available at www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1234453/seven-subjectslimits-teaching-chinese-universities-told, accessed on 15 August 2016.
- 21.
See Xinhua News Agency, 20 August 2013, available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-08/20/c_117021464.htm, accessed on 15 August 2016.
- 22.
See Xinhua News Agency, 21 January 2015, available at http://news.xinhuanet.com/zgjx/2015-01/21/c_133934292.htm, accessed on 20 August 2016.
- 23.
See Kerry Brown’s recent comments on this issue, “China’s New Moral Education Campaign,” available at http://thediplomat.com/2015/09/chinas-new-moral-education-campaign/, accessed on 10 July 2016.
- 24.
A recent case is the official 13th Five-Year Plan, especially Chapters 61 and 70. See Xinhua News Agency (2016).
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Li, Q. (2017). Reflections on Critical Engagement. In: The Idea of Governance and the Spirit of Chinese Neoliberalism. Palgrave, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4139-6_5
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