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Self-Undermining of Interpersonal Trust and Change of Acquaintance Society

From:社科报2022-3-5 20:34

As indicated by Zhan Lizhu in Journal of South China Agricultural University (Social Science Edition)(No. 1, 2022), the tension between the production pattern of small-scale peasant economy and the low level of social productivity in the period of agricultural civilization which resulted in long-term survival threat against peasants, had given rise to widespread reciprocal network in rural society. Self-reinforcing of peasants' interpersonal trust, mutual economic assistance and self-implementation of moral & reputation system interacted with each other, generating and maintaining the traditional acquaintance society. Through economic differentiation and peasants leaving villages, market input broke such a successive pattern. After peasants got rid of the threat of survival, they were less willing to keep the reciprocal mode, which further affected their behavioral choice. When self-undermining of trust triggered qualitative changes of peasants’ institutional belief, the acquaintance society suffered gradual disintegration irreversibly. In a mobile society, the establishment of new rural communities based on connective social networks is an important direction of rural social development.