「罗小朋：中国改革的新思路」正文
文章摘要：本文从集体认知的视角，应用当代制度经济学和实践政治哲学的理论成果来解读中国的过去，解读三十年改革开放的经验，提出了一个新的改革思路。这个改革新思路的基本的假设是中国的历史对精英的集体认知能力造成了不利的影响，而克服这种不利影响的信息环境已经出现。
文章的第一部分是政治改革的新思路和相应的机制设计。针对多数人既向往民主和自治，但又忧虑中国搞民主会乱，搞地方自治会分裂这样一个困境，文章提出了一个利用大一统的积极因素来克服大一统的消极因素的政治改革思路：通过中央直接任命部分县的行政长官来改善县域治理，渐进地推动地方自治，同时加速建设中央独立的司法和执法能力，并利用现代网络技术，建设中央与地方，政府与民间之间新的沟通机制和共识机制，促进全面的宪政民主。
第二部分是经济改革的新思路和相应的机制设计。针对中国城乡和地区之间的居民权利不平等导致收入分配严重不公平，文章在总结地方改革经验的基础上，提出了一个新的改革思路，即在中央政府的统一协调下，以县级政府为主体，组织“社会赋权交换”，纠正对土地和劳动价格的严重扭曲，彻底扬弃五十多年来以城乡和工作单位来界定个人权利的制度安排，从实现中国公民“同县同权”开始，推动地方自治，推动地方良性竞争与多边合作，逐渐实现中国公民权利的全面平等。
第三部分是改革新思路的学理依据。文章指出，创建中国本土化的现代化理论的一个重要切入点，就是理解中国人的集体认知特征。文章提出了这样一个核心观点：政治大一统主导下的中国社会具有自上而下的建构特征和知难行易的集体认知特征，中国必须针对自己的社会建构特征和集体认知特征来选择改革进路，理性地设计和推进改革过程。中国政治现代化成败的关键在于能否增进精英阶层的交往理性，正确地处理自治、法治和民主的关系。
关键词：中国改革，集体认知，权利交换
A New Approach of China’s Reform
Key words: China Reform, Collective Learning, Entitlement Exchange
ABSTRACTION
Applying some contemporary theories of Economics of institutional change and political philosophy, this paper presents a new approach for China’s reform based on new understandings of China’s past and the experience of the thirty years reforms in a perspective of collective learning. The basic assumption of this paper is that China’s past left very negative impact on the capacity of collective learning for the Chinese elite, but a new informational environment has created opportunity for China to overcome its weakness.
The first section of the paper suggests a new approach and mechanism for China’s political reform. For long time, the Chinese has been falling in such a paradox: they believe that regional self-governance and democracy should be the goals to achieve, however they also believe that self-governance would break up China and democracy would cause chaos. To resolve this paradox, the idea is to use the positive legacy of the Grand Political Unity (政治大一统) to overcome the negative legacy of China’s political system. The central government should directly appoint governors for some counties to reduce informational asymmetry between the central and local in the process to promote democratic self-governance. The central government also needs to build up its judicial and law enforcement capacity parallel to the local government, ensuring basic rights for all citizens during the reform process. At same time, new mechanisms to improve communicative rationality between the central and local, between the government and society should be built by taking advantage of modern IT through constructing new public spaces in webs.
The second section suggests a new approach and mechanism for China’s economic reforms. To tackle the severe social and economic inequality resulted from the existing entitlement system, a mechanism called ‘social entitlement exchange’ should be developed among the county governments under the coordination and fiscal support of the central government. This mechanism is expected to reduce the serious distortion of land market and labor market, and it will enhance equal social and economic rights by establishing equal rights first within each county, then by promoting fair regional competition and cooperation to lead China to a society of equal citizen rights.
The third section presents theoretical justification for the new reform approach suggested by this paper. China needs indigenous doctrine for its modernization. A good starting point is to understand how China’s unique past shaped its way in collective action, collective thinking and collective learning. The paper argues that the Chinese society is an “Up-Down” society structured differently from West and other civilizations. For China, it tends to be harder to know than to act. China needs to choose its own path for change based on its character in collective learning. The key for China’s success is to enhance communicative rationality among elites so they can properly coordinate the progress in regional self-governance, rule of law and democracy.
一、前言
在信息成本很高的时代，制度变革的一个重要特征，就是借助各种决定论和目的论的理论来增强变革的信心。无论这些理论本身的价值如何，由于知识和信息的不足和理性沟通的困难，不但变革的代价很高，而且往往会走到本不想去的地方。随着信息成本的下降和实证科学的发展，人类越来越试图通过自觉的认知过程来减少制度变革的风险和成本。过去三十年，中国在“摸着石头过河”的理念下推进的变革，明显地反映了这种新趋势和新特征，同时也积累了许多有价值的新鲜经验和新知识。但是，目前中国的诸多改革思路，缺乏自觉的集体认知分析，因而不能更好地把这些本土经验和知识变成支持中国进一步变革的资源。本文提出的中国改革新思路，就是试图从集体认知这样一个新的视角总结中国本土经验的努力。
本文提出的改革新思路基于以下的假设：
1. 自国家出现以来，在一定的国家权力结构和权利体系下内生的集体行动机制（mechanism of collective action）（Barzel, 2002）以及共生的政治文化对社会的集体认知能力有非常重大的影响。这是因为，任何一种集体行动机制都包含信念系统（belief system）和交往理性（communicative rationality）这两个要素，而笔者认为，这两个要素与知识存量（stock of knowledge）一道，决定着集体认知的能力。在外生力量对价值理性和知识存量发生重大影响的当代，交往理性对集体认知能力具有更加突出的影响。
2. 中国现代化的困境最深刻的根源是两千多年儒法国家（赵鼎新，2006）的政治大一统内生的集体行动机制对精英集体认知能力，尤其是对精英的交往理性的桎梏。春秋战国时代形成的统一的士阶层，是华夏文明政治整合的社会基础。秦朝速亡并没有改变士阶层支持终结争霸，天下一统的主流倾向，而是诱生了两个适应政治大一统的集体行动机制，一个是由陈胜吴广揭竿而起、刘邦项羽逐鹿中原奠定的改朝换代机制，另外一个就是汉武帝“罢黜百家，独尊儒术”而创建的儒士制约王权的“道统”机制。“道统”机制的核心是反对以封建特权来制衡中央王权，试图以儒士的道德理想实现对王权的约束。成王败寇的改朝换代机制对使用极端暴力争夺最高权力赋予了完全的正当性，而过度依赖道德说教的“道统”机制，虽然提供了一种以科举为基础的官僚政治制约王权的机制，却不利于权利对权力的制衡。中国历史上的治乱循环不仅与中国精英政治大一统的偏好而且与两个相关的集体行动机制始终未能更新有很大关系。