The Social Contract of Beijing

[lofuji]

As someone from a semi-rural background, I’m a big fan of urban parks. Some, like Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York, have an international reputation, but the really interesting ones are those that are unknown outside their immediate neighbourhood and are there simply as an amenity for the local population. We came across one such local park on our recent trip to Beijing, directly across the road from our hotel.

Side Park is a small oasis of calm amid the bustling chaos of the surrounding streets, with a huge wrought iron gate that appears to be permanently closed. Entry and egress are through a much smaller gate on the side. I half wondered if this was a throwback to the days of imperial China, when the largest and most magnificent gate or door was reserved for the exclusive use of the emperor, but the last Qing emperor is unlikely to have lived long enough to have seen this park, let alone this splendid gateway, so I dismissed the thought.

Just inside the gate, my attention was drawn to a large notice board to which was pinned an oddly intriguing poster with text in English and simplified Chinese. I reproduce it here in full so that you can judge for yourself whether my description is appropriate:

THE SOCIAL CONTRACT OF BEIJING
Love China, love Beijing.
Live in harmony with all.
Maintain public order.
Work well and hard.
Be honest and trustworthy.
Be industrious and thrifty.
Obey the laws and safeguard public order.
Be ready to support the just cause.
Encourage healthy trends.
Plant trees and flowers.
Protect the environment.
Care for one another.
Protect public property.
Safeguard national cultural relics.
Advocate science.
Respect teachers and education.
Always seek self-improvement.
Cherish the young and show respect to the elderly and each other.
Show mutual respect to soldiers and other public servants.
Assist the disabled and the poor.
Strive to improve social conditions.
Maintain your health, observe birth control practices.
Work for the good of society.
Be gentle and polite to all others.
Be broad-minded and open-minded.
Take pleasure in helping others.

The first thing to note is that this is not a contract but a set of rules, exhortations to behave in a manner that will be beneficial to the collective and a total denial of individuality. A contract is a two-way process, yet nowhere on this notice is there anything that could be construed as telling the citizen what they will get in return. Perhaps this personal benefit is implicitly understood by the expected readership.

However, my comments here should not be understood as an implied criticism of China or its social and political policies, because there are few if any rules on this list against which one could make a serious case. On the other hand, were Boris Johnson in London or Michael Bloomberg in New York to attempt to introduce such a ‘social contract’ in their respective cities, they would probably be laughed out of office. But that is because we in the West are accustomed to thinking that liberal democracy is the optimum form of government, and that the Chinese system, which in any case is poorly understood, is still evolving and is not nearly as monolithic as it is usually perceived to be, is altogether too authoritarian.

Given that the planet is in a parlous state precisely because of our espousal of the individual as the cornerstone of a successful society, it should be obvious that the paradigm for any future form of social organization that can deal with the mess will be a lot closer to the collectivism of the Chinese model than to the outmoded and discredited capitalist system, which once brought prosperity and important social progress but has now led us by the nose to the brink of ruin.

[Trolldor]

lol.
No.

"Great Firewall of China".

Bring me disharmony any day of the week.

[Rum]

Nice to see you posting Lofu! Where have you been!?

[FBM]

I admit that I prefer the balance between collectivism and individualism I find here in Korea over the extreme emphasis on individualism that characterises Western culture. Without a greater social awareness and willingness to sacrifice some self-promotion in order to maintain the greater good - and I mean this on every level, from local to global - the West will someday find itself like the fabled Tower of Babel. Let's hope it's wise enough to learn from the lessons of history, rather than racing blindly to a catastrophic resolution.

[Trolldor]

Sacrificing your individuality for social harmony is not a sacrifice at all, it is surrendering. It is the illusion of harmony, but you sacrifice your freedom to think, to act, to feel. Someone influencial enough comes along and suddenly 'for the greater good' you're working 'for the betterment of our peoples'. Harmony will not come by holding hands and closing our eyes, but by realising our position not to each other, not to the planet, but to the universe itself. When the individual realises this, then true social harmony will occur. Until then, what is being suggested is obedience to someone else's construct of harmony.

[Deep Sea Isopod]

The first thing to note is that this is not a contract but a set of rules, exhortations to behave in a manner that will be beneficial to the collective and a total denial of individuality. A contract is a two-way process, yet nowhere on this notice is there anything that could be construed as telling the citizen what they will get in return. Perhaps this personal benefit is implicitly understood by the expected readership.

What the citizen gets in return is a clean, safe, pleasant area to walk around.
Now take a rural park in Birmingham. Litter, shopping trollies, burnt out cars and needles everywhere and unpleasant people. Dog tablets used to be plentiful too, untill signs were put up telling dog owners to clean up after them.
So, if the rules/contract in China's rural park works.........!