『三公』禁鱼翅,『抓小』更勿『放大』

针对全国人大代表丁立国联合三十多位人大代表提出的《要求制定禁止公务和官方宴请消费鱼翅规定的建议》,7月2日,国务院机关事务管理局政策法规司相关负责人证实,有望在三年内发文规定公务接待不得食用鱼翅.(见《21世纪经济报道》)按理说,公众看到这样的消息应该是倍感欣喜的,但欣喜的同时夹杂着苦涩——有望三年内发文,为啥不只争朝夕一点儿?更大的问题是,从禁止公款消费高档烟酒,到公务接待不得食鱼翅,终究还是规范三公开支的细枝末节的作为.今天鱼翅,明天鲍鱼,后天三文鱼,照这么个规定法儿,有关部门得发多少个文?这恐非解决问题的最佳途径.全面而深入地规范三公开支,当谨防陷入这种抓小放大的误区.     

『沙漠之狐』亲历记

近一段时间以来,美国不断向伊拉克发出武力威胁,战争阴影再一次逼近巴格达上空,这不禁使我想起三年多以前我在驻伊拉克使馆工作期间经历的一场战争--美英对伊实施的代号为"沙漠之狐"的大规模空袭.今天追记下当时的情景,不是为了重温战争的残酷,而是祈愿战火不要再降临已饱受苦难的伊拉克人民.     

海峡两岸『空飘』、『海漂』宣传战揭秘

1950年朝鲜战争爆发后,蒋介石想借机“反攻大陆”,但没有得到美国的支持。蒋介石只好一面对大陆沿海采取小规模武装袭扰,一面通过各种方式,对大陆进行宣传战。应对台湾当局的宣传战,大陆军民进行了针锋相对的斗争。于是,从上世纪五六十年代起,在台湾海峡的两岸,出现了“空飘”、“海漂”等奇特的政治景观。撤台初期,台湾当局财力有限,空飘的气球较小。由于靠顺风作动力,空飘的距离也不远。随着经济的恢复,台当局空飘的气球越来越大。     

『礼』的延续

中国人重“礼”,因为几千年间中国社会都是一个等级森严的专制社会。为了维系这个社会制度,就得有“礼”,借以处处体现上下尊卑的社会秩序。大到官制设定,小到婚丧觐宴、穿衣吃饭,依人分等,都有规定。所谓“经礼三百,曲礼三千”,足见繁琐。因为繁琐,所以古代官僚或候补官僚都要专门学习,以“礼”事上,以“礼”治下,免得举措失当,乱了规矩。今天,除了为研究古代官制及文化风习,     

超越『左』与『右』的政治框架--『第三条道路』与社会民主主义的调整

"第三条道路"谋求超越西方"左"与"右"的激进政治框架 "第三条道路"根据全球化给经济、政治等社会生活领域带来的巨大变化,试图在全球范围内对传统政治特别是对社会主义、保守主义和新自由主义提出挑战,构筑超越"左"与"右"的新激进政治框架.其主张是:     

『大圣故里』烂尾扇了『故里热』一耳光

许多地方只是把名人故里当作经济项目、领导政绩来搞,而与文化事业没有半毛钱的关系.山西娄烦孙大圣故里折腾了两年之后只建成了一座接待中心.据娄烦县旅游局局长梁俊杰估算,这个项目需要过亿投资,即使建成,这个景区只有一个传说,从面上来看,娄烦周边没有出名的旅游景点,形不成旅游环境.     

是是非非说『八股』

现代人说起八股,往往摇头.其实就是古代人,大多对它也没什么好印象.古人并不像我们想的那么蠢,咱们看出了八股文的坏处,他们其实也都看出来了.问题是:其他的替代方案可能还不如八股考试呢!很多学者都认为这个东西败坏人心,戕害学问.比如顾炎武说:八股盛而六经微,十八房兴廿一史废.他认为:八股之害等于焚书,而败坏人材,有甚于坑儒.     

我们的『打造』功能

只要稍加关注，你就会看到国人“打造精品”，“打造龙头企业”，“打造世界五百强”的诸多词条充斥四周，它们强烈地刺激着人们的神经，似乎也激发着人们的工作热情和民族自豪感。     

保加利亚人的『面包情』

我在中国驻捷克大使馆工作期间,有一次在外交活动中,保加利亚大使向我说:"保加利亚人民对面包有特殊感情,他们一天都不能离开面包."我不以为然,心想:面包对其他国家的人民来说,是大众化食品,保加利亚的人民对吃面包有何不同?     

The Millennium Development Goals and Ambitious Developmental Engineering

Donor governments have been accused of not doing enough to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (mdgs), while the mdgs have been accused from other quarters of not doing enough for development. The former position takes the mdgs as an unquestionable good, while the latter posits them as a Western ruse for the sedimentation of core–periphery relations. This paper transcends this debate, identifying in the goals a logic of ambitious social, cultural and spatial engineering. Inspired by Foucauldian development anthropology, the paper highlights three themes implicit in mdg texts, requiring biopolitical interventions on bodies, societies and spaces, namely risk, sex, gender and family; Homo Economicus; and the city. The paper concludes with a reflection on the likelihood of resistance to such interventions.     

Engineering Elections: The Experiences of Women in Panchayati Raj in Karnataka, India

Engineering elections through gender quotas is a crucial component of strategies that seek to empower women through increased participation in the political system. In the south Indian state of Karnataka, this experiment has seen mixed results: it has made women more visible, decreased levels of corruption in Panchayati Raj institutions, and increased self-efficiency of women representatives. It is more difficult, however, to claim a substantive change in institutional priorities and state accountability. As important is the fact that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) often provide significant training and support in successful cases. Engineering elections thus highlights possibilities for change through increased participation by women.     

印度的医疗保障体系

印度是世界上人口仅次于中国的发展中国家,但印度的医疗保障体系在世界上是有名的,它保证了绝大多数人享受近乎免费的公共医疗卫生保障,一般老百姓看病的费用绝大部分是由政府支出,这极大地促进了印度社会的整体发展,同时,对我国医疗制度的改革也具有借鉴作用.     

Hinduising India: secularism in practice

This paper challenges the academic and media consensus on the notion that India is a secular state. It does so by marshalling empirical evidence that, far from being a state practising neutrality between the religious affiliations of Indian society or equidistance from all religions, the Indian state is actually and directly involved in Hinduisation of the country. It does this by promoting Hinduism through ‘reform’ and favouritism at state expense. While the constitution guarantees educational and cultural autonomy as well as religious freedom, in practice there are widespread and systematic violations by state institutions. In public employment the state follows discriminatory policies to perpetuate the Hindu majority by restricting religious freedom. The discriminatory policies are most visible in affirmative action policies and recruitment in the army. Contrary to some academic writings, the paper establishes that the Hinduisation of the Indian state is not only associated with the votaries of Hindutva represented by a ‘family’, or parivar, of Hindu militant groups. The notion of India as a Hindu state pre-dates the creation of the postcolonial state in 1947, and was inherent in the militant right wing of the Congress Party, which perceived Christians and Muslims as foreigners. There is, the paper demonstrates, major continuity between the educational, cultural and employment policies pursued by the Indian state regardless of the party in power. The paper is based on primary Indian sources and interviews in India and abroad.