The problems of agriculture, rural areas and farmers are a kind of social problems in the process of modernization, which are historic and contemporary, and are related to the overall situation of China's reform, opening up and modernization, and are a social problem that needs to be solved urgently. This paper expounds the research background and importance of "three rural issues", briefly describes four definitions of "three rural issues" in China, studies the characteristics of "three rural issues" from the perspective of Marxist philosophy, discusses the causes of "three rural issues", briefly analyzes the current situation of "three rural issues", discusses the countermeasures and ways to solve "three rural issues", and puts forward the use of Scientific Outlook on Development to solve "three rural issues" and the transfer of rural surplus labor force.
Agriculture is the foundation of the country, and food is the first thing for the people. "Agriculture, countryside and farmers", that is, the problems of agriculture, farmers and rural areas, is a century-long problem that China has to face, and the problem of farmers is its core problem "Farmers are really bitter, rural areas are really poor, and agriculture is really dangerous (Li Changping)", which is a true portrayal of agriculture, rural areas and farmers in China. If the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers are not solved, it will be difficult for farmers, who account for 70% of the country's population, to achieve a well-off society in an all-round way and to build a harmonious society. Therefore, the sustained economic development of China, the steady progress of China and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are all inseparable from the three rural issues.
The background of the three rural issues
Since the mid-1980s, the problems of agriculture, rural areas and farmers have been a serious problem in front of China people. Whether it is farmers' employment, income growth, education, medical care, social security, land circulation, structural adjustment, international trade of agricultural products, rural market system construction, ecological environment protection, development of township enterprises, rural urbanization modernization, tax and fee reform, etc. It has seriously hindered the social and economic development of China, especially the reform. The income gap between urban and rural residents is widening, the income growth of farmers is slowing down, the contradiction of labor transfer is intensifying, and the development of rural society is lagging behind, which leads to a series of economic and political problems between urban and rural areas and makes the three rural issues more complicated. " 1
First, the income gap between urban and rural areas is widening. The widening income gap between urban and rural residents has become the focus of China's economic development. If housing, medical care, education, transportation and public services enjoyed by urban residents are included, the real income gap between urban and rural residents is about 6: 1. 2
Secondly, the situation of supporting agriculture with industry and supplementing agriculture with industry has not been fundamentally improved. For a long time, in order to ensure industrialization and absorb the largest amount of low-priced agricultural products and agricultural surplus from agriculture, the state has established a household registration system that separates urban and rural areas, and the resulting systems of housing, food supply, medical care, education and employment. At present, although the "scissors gap" of agricultural products is gradually weakening, "land scissors gap", "financial scissors gap" and "labor scissors gap" have appeared one after another, making rural areas, farmers and agriculture continuously transfuse blood for the development and welfare of cities, citizens and industries.
In addition, rural development has always lagged behind cities. As the most populous social stratum in China, farmers do not enjoy equal economic interests and social rights and interests with other strata in social development. The rural areas have not developed in step with the cities, and modern civilizations such as rural culture, science and technology, education, health and sports lag far behind the cities. Compared with cities, rural areas in China enjoy development opportunities and government welfare in social security, education and medical care, and are in a serious marginalized state.
These dual economic and social structures formed in the process of industrialization have made the opposition and alienation between agriculture and industry, rural areas and cities, farmers and citizens more and more obvious, and the economic foundation for maintaining the dual social structure between urban and rural areas has been fundamentally shaken, and the social environment for maintaining the differences between urban and rural areas has undergone fundamental changes. Agriculture is a weak industry, and its development needs an environment conducive to growth and a stable and safe support system. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers.
Definition of basic concepts
At present, there are four definitions of "three rural issues" in domestic theoretical circles.
1, the theory of "one agriculture". Some scholars believe that the term "agriculture, countryside and farmers" itself is debatable. Putting farmers, agriculture and rural areas on the same level means objectifying farmers. The problem of "agriculture, countryside and farmers" is actually a problem of "one farmer", and the two problems of countryside and agriculture are pseudo-problems, or farmers' own problems. Therefore, if we systematically analyze the causes of China's "three rural issues", the real or fundamental problem is the peasant issue.
2. Theory of "agriculture, countryside and farmers". Most viewpoints believe that the "three rural issues" are agricultural issues, rural issues and farmers' issues. Each of them has its own emphasis and must be considered comprehensively. Agricultural problems mainly refer to agricultural industrialization and modernization. At present, rural problems are mainly manifested in the reform of household registration system, and farmers' problems mainly include "improving quality" and "reducing burden"
3, "four farmers" said. Scholars believe that the problem of migrant workers should be added to the "three rural issues". Hu Angang said: "In recent ten years, the problem of agriculture, countryside and farmers in China has become increasingly prominent: 1994, about 40 million farmers went out to work, and now this number has reached 654.38+300 million, thus making the problem of agriculture, countryside and farmers become a problem of agriculture, countryside and farmers. Although it is the largest migration activity in human history, compared with China's 800 million rural population and 500 million rural labor force, this migration process is only the beginning, and will continue until 2030 or even longer. four
4. "Many farmers" said. Some scholars believe that we should not look at the "three rural issues" in isolation, but "look at agriculture, rural areas and farmers", and study farmers and citizens, agriculture and industry, rural areas and cities on the same level. This means that the important contents of social development such as urbanization, prosperity, people-oriented and sustainable development are the proper meanings in the study of "three rural issues".
The causes of "three rural issues"
The causes of the problems concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers in China are very complicated. The dual development strategy implemented by China is the political root of the "three rural issues"; Dual social structure is the social root of "three rural issues"; The dual fiscal and taxation system is the economic root of the "three rural issues"; A series of institutional defects in rural areas are the institutional roots of the "three rural issues"; The difference between urban and rural policies is the main reason for the increasingly serious problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers. The expansion of county and township structure has further aggravated the "three rural issues". The general root of "three rural issues" is the dual system of urban and rural areas in China.
Ye Xiangsong believes that the political root of poverty, rural backwardness and agricultural decline in China is the long-term implementation of the strategy of giving priority to the development of heavy industry after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the realization of national industrialization by depriving agriculture.
The dual structure of our society divides urban and rural areas into two closed social systems, and implements urban-rural division and urban-rural division. Under the guidance of the strategy of giving priority to the development of heavy industry, urbanization in China lags behind industrialization seriously, which avoids urban diseases, but leads to more serious rural diseases, namely the so-called three rural issues. Therefore, the dual social structure is the social root of the "three rural issues".
China implements a dual fiscal and taxation system that divides urban and rural areas, and farmers have both explicit and implicit burdens. In addition, farmers have to pay various fees other than agricultural taxes, and the taxes and fees of farmers are much higher than those of urban residents. Dual fiscal and taxation system is the economic root of the three rural issues.
Under the guidance of China's dual socio-economic structure, a series of discriminatory systems have been implemented in rural areas, resulting in institutional defects in rural areas. Unreasonable system and system defects are the institutional factors of "three rural issues".
In policy formulation, there are substantial differences between urban and rural areas, and rural areas implement a series of discriminatory policies in finance, finance, employment, culture, education, medical care and health care. These policies have accelerated the expansion of the gap between urban and rural areas, and are the increasingly serious policy factors of the three rural issues.
The expansion of county and township institutions, the increase of government staff and supernumerary personnel, the sharp increase of administrative funds and the lack of county and township tax sources, in order to maintain the operation of administrative institutions, all kinds of indiscriminate fund-raising, arbitrary apportionment and arbitrary charges have been repeatedly banned, further aggravating the poverty of farmers.
Characteristics of three rural issues
Most of the research on "agriculture, countryside and farmers" starts from the perspective of economics and sociology, and rarely analyzes "agriculture, countryside and farmers" from the perspective of Marxist philosophy. A profound understanding of the complex issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers is inseparable from the guidance of Marxist philosophy, a scientific world outlook and methodology. seven
Marxism holds that everything is the contradictory unity of universality and particularity, generality and individuality, and individuality. The universality of the "three rural issues" includes two aspects: First, it means that it is a common phenomenon in the process of world modernization, rather than a problem unique to individual countries. Secondly, it refers to the country where the "three rural issues" are concerned by the society as a social problem. The problem of "agriculture, countryside and farmers" not only exists in local areas, but also is almost a common phenomenon in the whole country and regions.
Marxism holds that everything has relativity and absoluteness, and it is the contradictory unity of relativity and absoluteness. The relativity of the three rural issues means that in the process of modernization, compared with the level of urban construction, industrial and commercial development and the income level of urban residents, agriculture is relatively backward, rural areas are relatively poor and farmers are relatively poor. In other words, the gap between urban and rural development, the growth rate of industry and agriculture, and the income gap between urban and rural residents are unreasonable.
Generally speaking, the absolute problem of agriculture, rural areas and farmers is that the achievements of modernization have not benefited the rural areas; The relative problem of agriculture, countryside and farmers is a reflection of the unbalanced development of workers and peasants and urban and rural areas in a country, and reflects the unfair distribution of social resources between urban and rural areas and social groups (citizens and farmers).
Since the reform and opening up, the absolute poverty population in rural areas in China has gradually decreased, the actual living standards of farmers have gradually improved, and the absolute three rural issues have tended to ease; However, the general trend is that the gap between urban and rural development is getting bigger and bigger, while the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers are getting more and more serious. seven
Only by grasping these philosophical characteristics of the issue of agriculture, countryside and farmers can we look at and study the issue of agriculture, countryside and farmers from a historical, interrelated, moving and developing point of view, thus raising our understanding of the issue of agriculture, countryside and farmers to a new level.
Present situation of three rural issues
The core of the "three rural issues" in China is the problem of farmers, which is mainly manifested in the low income of farmers, the difficulty in increasing income, the large income gap between urban and rural residents, and the ineffective protection of farmers' rights and interests.
Wang Hanfeng and Qi Lei said that the main problem facing farmers in China at present is the difficulty of increasing farmers' income. At present, there is no effective way to increase farmers' income in China. After the reform and opening up, although farmers can improve their income level by working in cities, their income growth is limited because of their low education level and general lack of professional skills. There are also education issues, social security issues, the protection of farmers' rights and interests, and so on, which are all urgent issues facing farmers at present.
Although the China government has taken many measures in agriculture in the past few decades, under the basic national conditions of a large population and a small population, the traditional agricultural production mode relying on manpower and animal power is difficult to break, and the surplus of labor often excludes the use and promotion of advanced agricultural machinery, resulting in the inability to realize mechanization, scale and industrialization in the vast rural areas, and the inability of advanced science and technology to guide agricultural production, resulting in low agricultural productivity and relatively high production costs of agricultural products. However, agricultural production in China still faces many problems.
China's rural problems are mainly manifested in the backwardness of rural areas relative to cities. Since the implementation of the household land contract system, the enthusiasm of farmers in China has indeed been greatly mobilized, and the countryside has become rich, but the gap between urban and rural areas is still obvious. For a long time, rural financial expenditure has been insufficient, and there is basically no social security system in rural areas. Agricultural infrastructure construction and public goods expenditure are basically raised by farmers themselves, and investment in rural education, medical care and scientific and technological development is insufficient. Although the country has increased its investment in rural areas in recent years, the rural landscape has been greatly improved, but it is still far from the standard of a new socialist countryside with developed production, affluent life, simple folk customs, civilized rural customs and democratic management, and there is still a long way to go to solve rural problems.
Government behavior and three rural issues
According to the new concept of coordinating urban and rural economic and social development, it is the unshirkable responsibility of the people to study and solve the three rural issues by promoting the strategic adjustment of agricultural and rural economic structure, deepening rural reform, increasing agricultural support and protection measures, and creating a system of benefiting farmers. 1
Government behavior plays an extremely important role in the emergence and development of the three rural issues. At present, how the government acts has become the key to solve the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers. We should accurately locate the role of the government in the three rural issues and find the direction of government behavior.
The necessity of government intervention: on the one hand, the comparative benefit of agriculture has been low, natural risks and market risks are intertwined, and the traditional management mode of farmers' decentralized management makes the productivity level low, which requires government intervention; On the other hand, due to the existence of market failures such as incomplete market, market limitations and negative market effects, government intervention is needed.
Government failure: mainly manifested in administrative guidance and monopoly orders; The dual-track system is intensifying; Unclear land property rights; The financial system is not standardized; Public services are not in place; The absence of the financial system.
"Three rural issues" and government behavior orientation: the government has the primary responsibility for rural infrastructure construction, ecological protection and basic system construction. The government is mainly responsible for the improvement of farmers' quality, career design, employment problems and the maintenance and guarantee of civil rights. Governments at different levels are different stakeholders and should bear different responsibilities in solving the problems concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers.
Government measures to solve the problems concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers: Since the Third Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee, the government's thinking on guiding the problems concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers has undergone fundamental changes, and the problems concerning agriculture, rural areas and farmers have become the top priority of all work. The government implements the policy of giving more, taking less and letting loose, gradually starts the public finance policy and takes the road of coordinating urban and rural development.
Solutions to the Problems of Agriculture, Countryside and Farmers
The problems of agriculture, rural areas and farmers are worldwide, so we should treat the problems of agriculture, rural areas and farmers in China with a normal mind. It is universal in our country, and solving the problems of agriculture, rural areas and farmers is an arduous task facing all regions in our country. seven
Wang Kai said 9 Scientific Outlook on Development can be used to solve the "three rural issues":
1, adhere to the people-oriented principle and create conditions for farmers to improve their own quality and living standards. First of all, the government should increase investment in rural education and culture. Secondly, it is necessary to strengthen the development of rural economy, reduce the burden on farmers and improve their living standards, and the significance of the transfer of rural surplus labor force to solve the three rural issues.
2. Adhere to the overall planning of urban and rural development, eliminate the dual economic structure and increase farmers' income. To solve the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers with Scientific Outlook on Development, we need to pay attention to rural development.
3, adhere to the overall planning of rural economic and social development, to lay a good foundation for the all-round development of rural areas. Develop rural science and technology, education, culture, health and sports. Including farmers' employment and farmers' social security. This requires not only the support of national policies, but also the promotion of towns and the development of rural economic strength. Change the reality of unbalanced development between urban and rural areas, and turn rural areas with backward economy and poor farmers into modern new rural areas.
4. Persist in sustainable development, and make rural resources, environment and population develop in harmony. First, control the rural population and improve the quality of the rural population. Second, make rational use of resources and promote economic growth. Third, protect the environment and benefit future generations.
Yang E said that 10 solving the rural surplus labor force is of great significance to the three rural issues:
Transferring rural surplus labor force is an important way to solve the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers, which can increase farmers' income and improve the quality of workers. It can promote the development of rural economy, rural culture and rural peace and stability.
Overpopulation in agriculture leads to overcapacity and insufficient demand for commercialization. Too few per capita resources limit income growth, and too large population base causes financial pressure. Therefore, the key is to reduce the number of farmers, accelerate the transfer of agricultural labor to non-agricultural industries, and urge rural population to concentrate in cities and towns, so as to drive the demand for agricultural products, promote structural adjustment, and increase farmers' income from two aspects: increasing non-agricultural employment and rural per capita resources.
(1) The significance of solving farmers' problems: First, it can increase farmers' income and improve their living standards. The second is to solve the employment of farmers. Third, it can improve the quality of workers.
(2) Significance for solving rural problems: First, it can promote rural economic development. Second, it can promote the development of rural culture. Third, it can promote peace and stability in rural areas.
(3) Significance for solving agricultural problems: First, it can promote the rational development and utilization of agricultural resources. Second, it can improve agricultural labor productivity. Third, it can accumulate capital for agricultural development.
On this basis, Li Zeng and zhangyan 10 proposed to increase information input and promote the process of rural informatization. The transfer of rural surplus labor force is an important way to solve the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers, and it is of great significance to solve the problems of farmers, rural areas and agriculture. However, just doing this is not enough.
Among the issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers, the issue of farmers is particularly important. The key to solve the problem of agriculture, countryside and farmers is to attach importance to farmers. Realizing farmers' wealth is the standard to solve the problems of agriculture, countryside and farmers. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the interests of farmers. 1 1 The solution of the three rural issues is a livelihood issue, which cannot be ignored in today's rapid development. The solution of the three rural issues has a long way to go, and it still depends on the government to a great extent. Grasping the master switch of understanding debt and feeling, consciously tilting financial input to rural areas, and vigorously starting to feed back from cities to rural areas and from industry to agriculture, initially making up for the original sin of urban development relative to rural areas. The 6000000000 peasant problem is not a peasant problem, but a product of social and economic structure transformation, not caused by farmers. Therefore, it is impossible to solve the problem by farmers' own efforts, and it must rely on the means of the state. A responsible government must focus on solving the three rural issues in an all-round way, in which providing rural public goods is the primary responsibility of the government.
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2 Zeng, coordinating urban and rural areas is the fundamental way to solve the three rural issues, Contemporary Thought, 2004, (4):4-9
The problem of China in Wen Tiejun is basically a problem of farmers. Agriculture, Rural and China Network, 2004-05- 10.
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10 lie enhancement, zhangyan. Journal of Yan 'an Institute of Education. Development of rural human resources and analysis of issues concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers. Journal of Yan 'an Institute of Education, 19, No.3, September 2005.
1 1 Li Yuguo. The core of the problems concerning agriculture, countryside and farmers--the problem of farmers. Journal of Shandong Youth Management Cadre College. No 6 of 2003 (1 106).