Opportunity Lost? Victorian Labor's Enactment of Community Development 1999–2006

The idea of community development has been evoked by Australian governments over many decades. The expressions of community have differed widely, often as a result of politics rather than informed policy. In 1999, after seven years of radical neo‐liberal restructuring in Victoria, the Bracks government found itself unexpectedly elected to power. They faced new challenges such as a diminished public sector, growing social inequality and climate change. The first two terms of Victorian Labor were a seminal period in terms of the role they would invoke for ‘community’. Did grass roots participation take a central place, or did rhetoric rule over substance? The evidence points to a government maintaining a neo‐liberal trajectory, and thereby losing an opportunity to enable an active citizenry.     

The Quango Conundrum

Quangos (or more accurately, arm's length bodies) are the subject of repeated culls by incoming governments, yet individually are seen as useful devices to reassure the public and give confidence in the performance of public functions. We argue that the confused landscape and poor governance has contributed to the view that, as a class, ALBs are inefficient and unaccountable. The government needs to take the opportunity of its review to rationalise the complex landscape of ALBs, and put governance on a more robust long‐term footing based on the degree of freedom an ALB needs to command public confidence.     

Getting to Peace? Negotiating with the LRA in Northern Uganda

Getting to peace is not a straightforward process. In Uganda, internal conflict has raged for more than 20 years between the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army. The construction of a comprehensive negotiated settlement is at the mercy of conflicting ideologies and influences at the international, national and grassroots levels. This paper examines the Juba peace talks, the major actors in the negotiation process, and tension between prosecution and amnesty.

马克思主义哲学在当代

必须克服以斯大林教科书为范本的“辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义”体系及其模式的缺陷．重新焕发起马克思主义哲学的生机，使之继续走在人类文明的前列。必须因应中国马克思主义哲学理论和实践发展的要求．探索建立马克思主义哲学当代中国化的形态，走向马克思主义哲学发展的新高度。     

Life Extension: Rolling the Technological Dice

The idea of radically extending average human life expectancy is an ancient one, but for most of human history exceedingly utopian. There is now, however, a revival of that idea, with some scientists and others arguing that it is possible and desirable. But the main problem with most of the life extension enthusiasm is that it is based almost entirely on the desire of some individuals to make it happen. The social consequences of success of such a venture are, however, either ignored altogether or dismissed on the grounds that any problems can be dealt with. In the end, none of our present human and social problems would be helped by radically longer lives and no obvious social benefits have been advanced to support it.

马克思主义大众化在中国道路中的价值功能

中国道路是围绕什么是社会主义,怎样建设社会主义这个根本问题,在理论和实践中形成和发展起来的中国特色社会主义道路。人民大众坚定走中国道路是中华民族实现伟大复兴的前提,这需要用马克思主义理论武装人民大众,并在人民大众的中国道路实践中,充分彰显马克思主义理论的科学认知、方法指引、实践指导价值功能。     

Urban citizenship of rural migrants in reform-era China

One paradoxical reality of today's China is that urban citizenship does not necessarily go to those who have already moved to the city. Rural migrants are now allowed to work in cities but are deprived of a wide range of entitlements. Taking Shanghai, the most populous city in the world's most populous country, as a case study, this article establishes significant empirical content to elucidate how the notion of urban citizenship is interpreted in China, what criteria are applied for granting the urban citizenship, to what extent the entitlements of migrants in cities are comparable to those of the bona fide urban residents, and whether the lack of urban citizenship influences migrants' integration into host cities. Empirical investigation shows that granting of the urban hukou (household registration) is based largely on migrants' contribution to, rather than simply on their presence in, the host city. In the context of reform-era China, urban citizenship is used by city government not only to exclude some members of society from accessing urban welfare but also to make the urban economy more competitive by grabbing capital and human resources possessed by migrants.     

我国官员财产申报制度的建立与完善

官员财产申报制度,是国际社会普遍采取的一种约束政府官员行为的制度,实施官员财产申报制度能有效遏制贪污贿赂等职务犯罪行为。鉴于我国现行的财产申报制度存在申报主体和申报范围偏窄、只向上级申报不接受公众监督、可操作性不强等问题及这一制度在我国的发展现状,我们必须从我国建立健全反腐败体系、加强反腐倡廉建设和开展反腐败斗争的实际需要出发,借鉴国外在应对腐败和对官员监督方面的经验,加强对我国的官员财产申报制度的研究。通过试点,争取在全国范围内早日建立并推行官员财产申报制度,让官员财产申报制度成为制度反腐的有力支撑,最终通过立法来完善我国的官员财产申报制度。     

十一届三中全会以来中国共产党对马克思主义社会发展理论的重要创新

1978年党的十一届三中全会以来,中国共产党在改革开放的伟大实践中坚持并不断发展马克思主义,在有关社会主义社会的发展动力、发展规律、发展主体等重要的理论问题上提出了许多新的观点,作出了许多新的论断,在新的时代背景和历史条件下补充、丰富和发展了马克思主义的社会发展理论,推动了有中国特色社会主义建设事业的发展。     

瓦格纳定律之英国实证检验及其对中国公共财政建设的启示——新公共管理运动背景下的探索

新公共管理运动的兴起,从理论上看财政规模弱化不可避免。英国作为新公共管理运动的发源国之一,其行政管理改革充分贯穿和系统展现了新公共管理理念的精髓。以英国新公共管理运动以来(1979—2006)的财政数据为依据,对瓦格纳定律进行实证检验,具有显著的代表意义。根据英国财政数据的研究结果与新公共管理理念高度吻合,表明瓦格纳定律在英国的适应期已经结束。有理由认为,只要推行新公共管理运动,瓦格纳定律就难以得到支持。鉴于新公共管理运动的世界性,及其不断推进的必然性,应当重新审视瓦格纳定律的客观性。有鉴于此,中国应该顺应世界新公共管理运动的潮流,立足于中国现实和中国社会经济转型的发展趋势,本着服务型政府的内在要求,适时调整财政政策。