Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T00:14:42.164Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Political Values and Life Satisfaction in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2020

Xinsheng Liu ,
Youlang Zhang Open the ORCID record for Youlang Zhang [Opens in a new window]  and
Arnold Vedlitz
Xinsheng Liu
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University. Email: [email protected].
Youlang Zhang*
Affiliation:
Renmin University of China.
Arnold Vedlitz
Affiliation:
Texas A&M University. Email: [email protected].
*
Email: [email protected] (corresponding author).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study focuses on the theoretical links between two important ingredients of individuals’ fundamental political values (i.e. authoritarian ideology and national attachment) and their life satisfaction assessments in an authoritarian context. We employ data from a 2016 national public survey in China to empirically examine how these political values relate to Chinese citizens’ life satisfaction. Our regression analyses demonstrate that Chinese citizens with stronger authoritarian ideology and national attachment are likely to report a higher level of life satisfaction. Our study contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the importance of the connections between political values and citizen life satisfaction. It also advances our understanding of the origins of social and political stability in authoritarian regimes, where citizen life satisfaction usually represents a major source of state legitimacy.

摘要

摘要

本文探讨个人基本政治价值观的两个重要组成部分（即威权主义意识形态和国家依恋）与生活满意度之间的理论关系，并采用 2016 年中国全国公众调查的数据，从实证上分析政治价值观对中国公众生活满意度的影响。分析结果表明，对威权主义认同较强和对国家依恋较强的中国公民具有更高的生活满意度。本文主要贡献在于从理论和实证上揭示了政治价值观与公民生活满意度之间的关系。鉴于威权国家中公民生活满意度通常是政权合法性的重要来源，本文有助于学界更深入地理解威权国家中社会和政治稳定的根源。

Keywords

political valueslife satisfactionChinaauthoritarian ideologynationalism and national attachment政治价值观生活满意度中国威权主义意识形态民族主义和国家依恋
Type
Research Report
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 245 , March 2021 , pp. 276 - 291
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ambrosio, Thomas. 2016. Authoritarian Backlash: Russian Resistance to Democratization in the Former Soviet Union. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appleton, Simon, and Song, Lina. 2008. “Life satisfaction in urban China: components and determinants.” World Development 36(11), 2325–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bader, Michael J. 2006. “The psychology of patriotism.” Phi Delta Kappan 87(8), 582–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bahry, Donna, and Silver, Brian. 1990. “Soviet citizen participation on the eve of democratization.” American Political Science Review 76(3), 502–521.Google Scholar
Bjornskov, Christian, Dreher, Axel and Fischer, Justina A.V.. 2007. “The bigger the better? Evidence of the effect of government size on life satisfaction around the world.” Public Choice 127(3), 267–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blank, Thomas, and Schmidt, Peter. 2003. “National identity in a united Germany: nationalism or patriotism? An empirical test with representative data.” Political Psychology 24(2), 289–312.10.1111/0162-895X.00329CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Xueyi, and Shi, Tianjian. 2001. “Media effects on political confidence and trust in the People's Republic of China in the post-Tiananmen period.” East Asia 19(3), 84–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devine-Wright, Patrick, Price, Jennifer and Leviston, Zoe. 2015. “My country or my planet? Exploring the influence of multiple place attachments and ideological beliefs upon climate change attitudes and opinions.” Global Environmental Change 30, 68–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Di Tella, Rafael, MacCulloch, Robert and Oswald, Andrew. 2001. “Preference over inflation and unemployment: evidence from a survey of happiness.” American Economic Review 91(1), 335–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diener, Ed, Emmons, Robert A., Larsen, Randy J. and Griffin, Sharon. 1985. “The satisfaction with life scale.” Journal of Personality Assessment 49(1), 71–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diener, Ed, Inglehart, Ronald and Tay, Louis. 2013. “Theory and validity of life satisfaction scales.” Social Indicators Research 112(3), 497–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easterlin, Richard A., Morgan, Robson, Switek, Malgorzata and Wang, Fei. 2012. “China's life satisfaction, 1990–2010.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(25), 9775–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, Stanley. 2003. “Enforcing social conformity: a theory of authoritarianism.” Political Psychology 24(1), 41–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Festinger, Leon. 1957. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Flavin, Patrick, Pacek, Alexander C. and Radcliff, Benjamin. 2011. “State intervention and subjective well-being in advanced industrial democracies.” Politics and Policy 39(2), 251–270.10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00290.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, Chunping. 2012. “Satisfaction with the standard of living in reform-era China.” The China Quarterly 212, 919–940.10.1017/S0305741012001233CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helliwell, John F., and Huang, Haifung. 2008. “How's your government? International evidence linking good government and well-being.” British Journal of Political Science 38(4), 595–619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henry, P.J. 2011. “The role of stigma in understanding ethnicity differences in authoritarianism.” Political Psychology 32(3), 419–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Haifeng, and Liu, Xinsheng. 2018. “Historical knowledge and national identity: evidence from China.” Research and Politics 5(3), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jagodzinski, Wolfgang. 2010. “Economic, social, and cultural determinants of life satisfaction: are there differences between Asia and Europe?” Social Indicators Research 97(1), 85–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jost, John T. 2006. “The end of the end of ideology.” American Psychologist 61(7), 651–670.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kemmelmeier, Markus, and Winter, David G.. 2008. “Sowing patriotism, but reaping nationalism? Consequences of exposure to the American flag.” Political Psychology 29(6), 859–879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, Gary, Honaker, James, Joseph, Anne and Scheve, Kenneth. 2001. “Analyzing incomplete political science data: an alternative algorithm for multiple imputation.” American Political Science Review 95(1), 49–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Zhengtao, Folmer, Henk and Xue, Jianhong. 2014. “To what extent does air pollution affect happiness? The case of the Jinchuan mining area, China.” Ecological Economics 99, 88–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mandel, David R., and Omorogbe, Philip. 2014. “Political differences in past, present, and future life satisfaction: Republicans are more sensitive than Democrats to political climate.” PLOS One 9(6), e98854.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Napier, Jaime L., and Jost, John T.. 2008. “Why are conservatives happier than liberals?” Psychological Science 19(6), 565–572.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Radcliff, Benjamin. 2001. “Politics, markets, and life satisfaction: the political economy of human happiness.” American Political Science Review 95(4), 939–962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schafer, Joseph L. 1997. Analysis of Incomplete Multivariate Data. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sears, David O., Lau, Richard R., Tyler, Tom R. and Allen, Harris M.. 1980. “Self-interest vs symbolic politics in policy attitudes and presidential voting.” American Political Science Review 74(3), 670–684.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, Tianjian. 2001. “Cultural values and political trust: a comparison of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan.” Comparative Politics 33(4), 401–419.10.2307/422441CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, Tianjian. 2015. The Cultural Logic of Politics in Mainland China and Taiwan. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sinkkonen, Elina. 2013. “Nationalism, patriotism and foreign policy attitudes among Chinese university students.” The China Quarterly 216, 1045–63.10.1017/S0305741013001094CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skitka, Linda J. 2005. “Patriotism or nationalism? Understanding post-September 11, 2001, flag-display behavior.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 35(10), 1995–2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stutzer, Alois, and Frey, Bruno S.. 2006. “Political participation and procedural utility: an empirical study.” European Journal of Political Research 45(3), 391–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taber, Charles S., and Lodge, Milton. 2006. “Motivated skepticism in the evaluation of political beliefs.” American Journal of Political Science 50(3), 755–769.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tang, Wenfang. 2005. Public Opinion and Political Change in China. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Tang, Wenfang. 2016. Populist Authoritarianism: Chinese Political Culture and Regime Sustainability. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weitz-Shapiro, Rebecca, and Winters, Matthew. 2011. “The link between voting and life satisfaction in Latin America.” Latin American Politics and Society 53(4), 101–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, Youlang. 2019. “Representative bureaucracy, gender congruence, and student performance in China.” International Public Management Journal 22(2), 321–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhong, Yang, and Chen, Jie. 2002. “To vote or not to vote: an analysis of peasants’ participation in Chinese village elections.” Comparative Political Studies 35(6), 686–712.CrossRefGoogle Scholar