Considerations on the Moral Approach to Problems about Agriculture, the Countryside and Farmers in China

Empirical studies on social sciences are bound to proceed from preconceived values. By the moral approach to problems about the agriculture, countryside and farmers in China we mean here the ineffaceable perception of values dominating relevant discussions in the political and academic circles that the economic, social and cultural problems in the countryside are rooted, in the final analysis, in the morality, ideology or, in sweeping terms, ＂quality＂ of some social groups. Therefore, the keys to the solution of these problems lie in the enhancement of morality, remolding of ideology and upgrading of quality. This moral approach is also seen in post-modern sociological studies in the contemporary West, including Western studies on social stratification in the villages of developing countries.