The Production And Reproduction Of Chinese Rural Poverty Discorse

Taken discourse as consciously constructed knowledge, this paper examined the dynamic role which state played in the production and reproduction of discourse on poverty.In the post-reform era, the legitimacy foundation of state has shifted with a seires of change on national development strateges and the spread of modernization and globalization. In response to arissing legitimacy crisis, the state constructed the’poverty discourse’, anti-poverty institutions and orginaztions to repair the fractured ruling ideology during transition period, trying to adjust CPC’s political representativeness, keep goverment’s neutrality and balance its rights and obligations in the international community.Chinese government implemented its national anti-poverty program in the mid of1980s. However, some evidences suggeste this system may have begun to form since1979. That means analysts should pay much more attention on events in1979or even erlier. From1977to1982, some important discussions and interactions on political or economy reform have sprung up among top political think tanks and dicission-making organizations. The national anti-poverty program is somewhat a consequence of those historical events. In order to understand state’s expectation on anti-poverty program, this paper reviewed those events.Firstly, the author reviewed several obvious changes in the’official poverty profile’since1949. By studing relevant reports on People’s Daily, one of the most famous and important official media platforms in china, the author found2charactors of officla poverty profile:it is uncontinous and the state’s increasing concern on poverty is not directly related to the increase of poverty rate. According to different content, historical data could be carictoried into3dimensions:(1) state’s view on the profile and reason of poverty;(2) state’s explaination on classic theories such as Marxist works; and (3) state’s attitude about the political organization that stands for poor famers’intrests. Then the paper examined the emergence of the’Three West Regions’ anti-poverty program, found that a few of intertwined factors affected this dicision. For example,’Two West Regions’in Gansu province impressed government leaders as’the poorest’ region in the early1970s, making them more reasonable to be brought into the first anti-poverty program financed by central goverment. Additionally, the key officials of Gansu provincial government and party committee chose an advanced side in the disputes on agricultural development strateges. To sum up,’Three West Regions’were targeted by the anti-poverty program might achieve maximum political interests of key forces in the decision making level.After the official poverty profile was constructed, the state encouraged reproduction of it through politicization and bureaucratization. Politicization refers to the attempt that state builds the moral relation with poor and other citizens by introducing a series of discourse. In this paper, the notion of metaphor was borrowed to demonstrate the politicization process. On the other hand, this paper analysed the bureaucratization process by reviewing the goals, anti-poverty agencies, and institutions of this bureaucratic system. It was argued that the targeting of anti-poverty program is not an objective process. Agencies engaged in this process would explain the reason why poverty existed and guide anti-poverty actions according to their intreasts. Poverty Alleviation Office also used specialized tools and expertise knowledge to enhance their professional and irreplaceable status.In short, the state proved, demonstrated, and accumulated governance legitimacy by construcing poverty profile and implementing anti-poverty program. It is a dynamic and conscious process. Political morality, bureaucratic structure and the introduction of expertise knowledge constituted a machine of reproducting poverty, making the ’official poverty’ always existed, which in turn cultivated the legitimacy of governance.