Liu Shangxi: The sustainability of the social security system injects certainty into China's modernization

Source: Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences

Author: Liu Shangxi is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences

Modernization is a process of "destructive creation," which is not only a destructive creation of science and technology and the mode of production activities, but also a destructive creation of traditional rules, order, and systems. The acceleration of the world's great changes has made China's modernization process more uncertain, and it has also marked a clear risk era for Chinese modernization. Chinese modernization is a new type of modernization, that is, to break the myth that "modernization equals Westernization", to take human modernization as the goal, material modernization as the means, and governance modernization as the guarantee. These constitute the three levels of today's Chinese-style modernization, which need to be promoted in an integrated manner, and are also the three symbolic stages of China's pursuit of modernization: from material modernization to governance modernization to people-centered modernization. In the process of modernization, which is full of uncertainties and risks and challenges, the sustainability of the social security system is not only a stabilizer for modern society to cope with various uncertainties and public risks, but also a booster for continuing the Chinese people-oriented ideology and promoting human modernization, and an important yardstick for measuring the modernization of China's governance system and governance capacity. A sustainable social security system is a fundamental condition for China's economic and social transformation and an important source of certainty for Chinese-style modernization.

First, the underlying logic of social security embedded in Chinese modernization is people-oriented

Chinese people-oriented culture is the root of Chinese modernization. The people-oriented thought of the mainland has a long history, which originated in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, developed in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and was stereotyped in the Han Dynasty. Since Mencius clearly put forward the idea of "the people are noble and the monarch is light", the people-oriented thought has gradually become the mainstream of mainland political culture. After the proposal of "whatever the people want, heaven will follow", the "relationship between heaven and man" began to tilt towards man, and the relationship between the mandate of heaven, the way of heaven, and the principles of heaven and human life, humanity, and reason of heaven changed from the people, and the people became heaven. Subsequently, enriching the people, benefiting the people, enjoying the people, and worrying about the people gradually became the mainstream. The rich ideological and cultural resources provided by the mainland's thousands of years of history have derived the political value of "serving the people", which will also support the people-centered Chinese-style modernization.

Changing from material-based logic to people-oriented logic is not only the requirement of Chinese modernization, but also the construction of the underlying logic of the social security system. "Chinese-style modernization" is a major theoretical and practical innovation, and its "newness" lies in breaking through the path of modernization of developed countries and shifting modernization from the logic of things and capital to the logic of the people. Chinese modernization should be understood from three dimensions, namely, material modernization, governance modernization and human modernization. These three aspects are an interrelated organic whole, three levels, and successive historical processes and stages. Entering a new stage, human modernization is the starting point and the end point of modernization. This is logically consistent with the transformation of the social security system, which is based on human freedom and development.

Second, a sustainable social security system hedges the risk of uncertainty

Economic and social evolution is a non-linear complex dynamic process, which is essentially an uncertain process. The pursuit of modernization is inseparable from two types of "destructive creations": one is the destructive creation of the system, and the other is the destructive creation of science and technology and production and lifestyle. The two interact, and the order constructed by the existing rules and the certainty it brings are constantly invalidating in the "destructive creation". The modern social security system is born to alleviate and repair this "damage", and it protects the social groups affected by risks in the process of modernization in the form of legislation, which can effectively inhibit the externalization, socialization and publicization of individual risks, curb the formation of public risks and prevent public crises, and become an indispensable and important institutional arrangement in the modernization process of various countries.

In the era of digital economy, this kind of "destructive creation" is accelerating, and the overlapping and evolution of various risks has brought greater uncertainty to development, which puts forward new requirements for the social security system to prevent and resolve public risks. Only a more sustainable social security system can escort China's modernization in the face of "century-old changes" and "turbulent waves". On the one hand, social security should protect and improve people's livelihood, maintain social equity and enhance people's well-being, and prevent and resolve possible social risks on the basis of a higher level of economic and social development; on the other hand, the social security system should pay close attention to the internal risks caused by the imperfection of its own system, the lack of coordination of projects, the insufficient security, and the lack of timely reform, as well as a series of people's livelihood risks, social risks, financial risks, and even political risks caused by spillover. A sustainable social security system includes not only the sustainability of the level of benefits, but also the sustainability of the legal system, system coordination and operational efficiency, all of which are indispensable.

Third, a sustainable social security system contributes to human modernization

The five basic characteristics of Chinese modernization all focus on human modernization. "People are the measure of all things", and people-oriented modernization aims to promote the transformation of all people from "traditional people" to "modern people". The core of modern man is to highlight the "three natures of man", that is, human subjectivity, creativity and civilization. First, human subjectivity is based on the relationship between people and things, and people dominate things, but are not dominated by things. Throughout the history of human development, every breakthrough in man's dependence on God, man-to-man, man-to-land, and man-to-capital is a self-emancipation of mankind and a great leap in the nature of society. Social security protects the basic rights of survival, health, labor and development of every person in society through legislation, so that people can be free from the shackles of things, the attributes of tools and the isolation of individuals, so as to have a stronger subjectivity. Second, human creativity is based on the relationship between humans and animals, which is the main mark that distinguishes humans from animals. Social security empowers modern people to reach their creative potential by protecting, repairing, and investing in human capital throughout its lifespan. Third, human civilization is based on the relationship between people, and the more universal and altruistic the citizens of the society, the higher the civilization of the society, and vice versa. Through social relief, social insurance, social welfare and other projects of mutual assistance and mutual assistance of the whole society, social security has formed the basic social values of helping the needy, solidarity and mutual assistance, and sharing development, demonstrating the brilliance of modern human nature.

Chinese modernization is the modernization of a huge population, and the population of 1.4 billion is not an abstract concept, but is composed of different groups and different strata. The social security system pays great attention to the support of the weak, the poor, the poor, the sick and other groups, and places more emphasis on the "commonality" on the road to prosperity, and promotes the modernization of the whole society by promoting the all-round development of all people. Fourth, a sustainable social security system is an important yardstick for governance modernization

An important yardstick for the modernization of national governance is that members of society can acquire basic capabilities, including consumption ability and development ability, through institutional channels, so that the whole society can form a positive cycle of upward efforts. At present, there are still "three duals" in the mainland, which are the duality of ownership, the duality of economy, and the duality of society. In particular, the dual structure of social membership and basic rights formed on the basis of dual ownership has become a social factor with an unfair starting point and unfair opportunities in the process of marketization. This is also the social root cause of the formation of group disparities in social distribution, and then the formation of group disparities in ability. The intergenerational transmission of mass family poverty can also be formed as a result. At the beginning of its establishment, the mainland's social security system was built on the basis of the above-mentioned "three duals", and for a long time it has faced a series of problems, such as the separation of urban and rural areas, the division of the population, and the division of regions, which have been subject to the "three duals" to a certain extent, and have further solidified or even intensified the "three duals".

The social security system under the modernization of the governance system and governance capacity should take the lead in breaking through the shackles of the "dual" structure and become the vanguard force in realizing the modernization of governance. The transformation of the social security system should start from the equal development of people, jump out of the original fragmented reform model, and put more emphasis on overall design and reform coordination; we should continue to aim at the general improvement of the basic capabilities of all citizens, lay a solid foundation for governance with a fair starting point for human development and fair opportunities, and nurture broader social conditions for entrepreneurship and innovation. When a country's social security system provides basic certainty for both horizontal and vertical mobility of people, social governance can be said to guarantee the comprehensive and sustainable development of all people, and the whole country will achieve governance modernization in the true sense.