Issue 6, 2024 

The Age of Welfare

Contents

▍Overseas

Hezbollah: “A State within a State” or a “Proxy” in Great Power Games?  Li Haipeng

▍Feature

New Developmentalism: A Theoretical Weapon for the Rising of Global South? Li Xiaoyun, Tang Lixia

If certain theory reflects a form of self-reflection among Western social scientists aiming to break away from an academic ethic that spans from colonialism to post-colonialism, then the growing pursuit of “autonomous knowledge” by Southern social scientists, particularly those represented by Chinese scholars, can be seen as a form of intellectual awakening to escape their identity of “the otherness”. The rise of new developmentalist theories over the past two decades is precisely a product of this intellectual awakening. Once the Global South embraces practice-grounded theory with confidence, new developmentalism is bound to become a theoretical weapon for the development of the Global South.

▍Cover Story: The Age of Welfare

Building Welfare State: The Change on a Scale Unseen in a Century and the Choice of China’s Economic Development Model Gao Bai

Social Security in 30 Years: Full Coverage and New Segmentations Li Xue  Cao Yaxue

China has made significant strides in developing a comprehensive social security system over the past three decades. Notably, the system has expanded coverage to include previously marginalized groups such as rural residents and non-state sector employees. However, new disparities have emerged. While the gap in social benefits between urban and rural residents has narrowed, inequalities persist between employment-based and resident-based social insurances, as well as between stable and precarious employment. This study sheds light on the evolving landscape of social security provision in China, highlighting the need for policy interventions to address these emerging disparities and ensure equitable access to social welfare benefits.

The Goals of China’s Socialist Welfare System  Yao Yang

Welfare States Fade, Social Policies Endure Meng Ke

This article explores the concept of social policy and its evolution into the welfare state, especially in response to the risks faced in industrial societies. Drawing on Esping-Andersen’s definition of social policy as the public management of social risks, the article discusses its adaptation from traditional to modern contexts. It highlights the limitations of welfare states in addressing the systemic and pervasive risks of today's “risk society,” characterized by technological and global threats. It argues for the innovation of social policy frameworks to better address contemporary challenges, proposing approaches like Universal Basic Income to manage risks equitably.

▍World View

Global Capitalist Crisis and the Risk of New Group Confrontation Ingar Solty

▍Observation·Society

A Political Science Interpretation of “Formalism”  Fang Ning       

▍Forum: On the TV Series The Flowers Blooming

The Visual Aesthetics of Socialism in The Flowers Blooming Mao Jian

“This World Can Have Another Side” Shu Wei

How to Portray “The Glory of Labor” Through Visual Images Yan Tian

Remodeling Socialist Heroes Tao Qingmei

▍Re-recognize the West

Looks Like a State: A Historical and Cultural Analysis of American Political Vulnerability Fan Peng

The US political dynamics stems from its extremely short history and its peculiar cultural structure as a large-scale dispossessed refugee society that was formed explosively. America's innate dispossessed refugee social society, combined with its rejection of clan systems and lineage inheritance, as well as its lack of long-term historical institutional accumulation and necessary technical inheritance in governance, and lack of long-term governance experience, explains its temporary, fragmented, capricious and extreme realism characteristics to international diplomacy and politics. We must extend the temporal axis to observe, predict, and respond to a powerful yet fragile United States.

When Politics Becomes “Spiritual Opium” for American Youth Zhou Shun

A new trend among US youth shows their political engagement is driven not by party loyalty but by opposition aversion. Political sectarianism has split their social world into “us versus them” based on political identity. Key traits of this phenomenon include embedding politics as a core aspect of personal identity, moralizing group hostility, and embracing social justice as a quasi-religious cause. A significant driver behind the rise of this youth political sectarianism is progressive activism within education.

▍Ideas

Philosophy of Life  Rong Ping

▍Global South 

How Southern Countries Can Break the Cycle of Cost Transfer in Globle Economy Yang Shuai, Bai Tianyi, Wen Tiejun

The Process of National Modernization in Saudi Arabia Sun Xiaowen

Saudi Arabia’s modernization process is both unique and representative among diverse models of development. Reforms have unfolded within a traditional framework of political and religious legitimacy, ensuring stability and smooth royal succession. Oil and religion have played crucial roles in shaping this evolution. This paper explores the challenges Saudi Arabia has encountered since the discovery of oil and its efforts to adapt to the evolving global order. The central challenge for Saudi rulers lies in balancing domestic interests, national security, and global strategy, while maximizing the core national interests amid ongoing transformation.

▍Overseas Ethnography

The Shattering of the “Sugar Bowl of the World” Tang Yongyan