How About Chinese Culture and Society?

The analyses provided in these chapters typically make little or no reference to Chinese cultural characteristics. It has been argued that Chinese culture is crucial for understanding political and bureaucratic behavior in the PRC, as cultural approaches explain the nature of political alliances, expectations of political behavior, attitudes toward authority relations, and even the fundamental strength of political organizations.^[46] These authors probably would not argue against the idea that cultural factors affect the style and some other aspects of political and bureaucratic behavior. For example, the weakness of formal legal authority, the legitimacy of virtually unbridled concentration of power, and a proclivity toward negotiation may all be in part attributable to cultural influences. The authors nevertheless find that they do not have to utilize cultural variables to explain the major behavior patterns they identify.

There is also little consideration of the relations of state and society. The various chapters include careful analysis of the relationships among top leaders, key staff organs, and various bureaucratic units. The chapters by Naughton, Walder, and Zweig also address the issue of the relations between local government units and various enterprises. The focus here is explicitly on the political system and its internal dynamics, however, not on the relations between this system and the larger Chinese population.