个体工商户：中国市民社会的重要力量及价值

个体工商户作为中国社会的一个特殊经济群体，长期以来对中国经济发展做出了巨大的贡献，从个体工商户显性的经济作用到其潜在的精神气质，都可以毫不怀疑地说个体工商户是构建中国市民社会的一支重要力量。但近年，个体工商户的数量出现了下降趋势，这是经济发展的必然结果还是社会制度对这个群体照顾不周？对于个体工商户这样一个较为特殊的经济群体，法律应该如何对待？西方国家经济发展的实践证明，个体工商户或小商人并不是经济不发达的衍生品，也不是经济发达的淘汰品，中国市场经济的发展仍然需要大量的个体工商户，法律应当为个体工商户的发展创造更加宽松的制度环境。

Individual Industrial and Commercial Household:An Important Force and Value of China

As a special economic group individual industrial and commercial household has always been contributing greatly to the development of Chinese economy. It is undoubtedly an important force in the formation of Chinese society according to either its dominant role in the economical development or its potential substance. However, there has been a decrease in recent years. Is it an inevitable result of the development of economy or our neglect of our social system？ What is the law supposed to do with this special economical group？ The western countries＇ economical development experience proved that the individual industrial and commercial household or small merchants are not derivatives of the under-developed economy, nor is it elimination product. A lot of them are needed to meet the demand of our economic development. Thus, the law should provide looser systematic environment for more individual industrial and commercial households.