The Principal Problems With Remarriage Of Old People In Present China And Ethical Strategies To The Problems

Being deep and comprehensive in meaning, " old people" is so complex a concept that it is difficult to give it a definite definition. According to China's own national situations, we consider those who are over 60 as "old people" from the perspective of age. The problem of ageing is valued by governments and other social organizations at home and abroad. Many organizations and research institutes were therefore founded and have gained great achievement. At present, China is marching toward an "ageing" society in which the proportion of old people is becoming larger and larger. Among the total population of 130 million, 14.3 million are old people, and the latter is increasing at the rate of 3.2% per year. The increase of old people brings us a variety of social problems, among which the remarriage of old people has become a difficult one to be solved. This thesis analyzes the principal problems exist in the remarriage of old people and puts forward some ethical strategies toward these problems.There are two principal problems in the remarriage of old people in present China: one is that old people can hardly get remarried, and the other is the divorce rate of old people's remarriage is rather high. The causes of these two problems consist of three aspects: the aspect of society, the aspect of children and the aspect of old people themselves. Firstly, the social aspect comprises the influence of traditional thought, the obstacles of social policies and property system, the low ratio of men to women and obstacle of the viewpoint of value. Moreover, there is little understanding, tolerance and support on the part of the society. Secondly, strong opposition comes from old people's children. Generally speaking, there are mainly six aspects, from the problem of viewpoint of value to selfish considerations, that their children "fear": the first is that they are afraid of losing theproperty of inheritance after their mother's or father's remarriage;the second is that they worry that they will be put aside after their mother's 'or father's, remarriage;the third is that they think they will lose the most reliable "baby-sitter" after their mother's 'or father's remarriage;the fourth is that they are unwilling to look after their father's or mother' second wife or husband after their father' or mother's death;the fifth is that they are worried about that their mother or father will be maltreated by the children of the other family;the sixth is that they are afraid of losing face because of their mother's or father's remarriage. The third aspect is about old people themselves. Except outside obstacles, there are many problems arise from the old who demand remarriage and those who do get remarried. These problems, for example, are the constraints of physical condition and economical condition, the influence of traditional value and their first marriage, the lack of contact and understanding, the excessive expectation of the remarriage and the impurity of the motivation of remarriage.In order to solve the principal problems with the remarriage of old people, the thesis puts forward three strategies from the perspective of ethics. First, we should create harmonious social environment to the remarriage of old people. Second, system supporting and protecting the remarriage of old people must be established. Third, the marriage and love's moral quality of old people is needed to be improved.