Systematic Difference and Correlation in Urban and Rural …
571
phenomenon in question according to basic principles. After the reform and opening
up, the old ossified organizations in rural areas disintegrated and villagers assumed
a large extent of freedom in economic activities, who, having gained experience
in different places, on different occasions over several decades, have established
different lives. When they gather together again, each member’s attitude toward
these lives can be regarded as the “macro parameter” of the system. Given the traditional Chinese culture, working together to improve the environment and getting rich
through ecological civilization is very likely to become the prevalent attitude, which
is the “order parameter” in synergetics. The order parameter strongly influences every
member’s thoughts and actions, which gradually evolve into a general will. Against
such a background, the members are easily inspired by social changes and supportive
policies to work in coordination and push the system toward a common goal, thus triggering the “phase change” from disorder to order. The inspiring external factors are
called “control parameter.” The word “control,” according to Haken, means guiding
and adjusting, while the decisive factor on the system’s phase change is cooperation among the members, which usually takes the form of building a “community,”
such as the “community of ecological interests.” A community isn’t necessarily an
economic entity. It could be a group bonded by interests, in which every member is
both an actor and a manager. There is generally a leader or leaders, but they don’t
interfere in the members’ actions.
A city is a complex mega-system, and a big city is a super one, in which the categories and scope of social activities are far beyond the reach of rural areas. City is the
center of industrialization which has three major features. The first is intensiveness,
which refers to the high level of compression of space and the intensive utilization of personnel and equipment. The second is synchronization, which refers to the
high level of compression of time and the uniform arrangement of work and life. The
third is standardization, which refers to the high level of compression of structure and
the front-to-end standardization of everything, from details to the general assembly.
Human expertise is extended in one direction amid these three features, which keeps
raising the quantity and quality of products. The three features essentially constitute a heter-organization, and consumption that is attached to the production system
is a part of this system. They seem unconnected but there is a connection—wild
consumption and wild production are in a mutual cause-and-effect relation. This is
the “human dependence on things,” and the result is metamorphosis of both man and
nature. Marx divided individual development into three stages—mutual dependence
between men, human dependence on things, and all-rounded development of man.
In the first stage, man’s essential power is weak, but it is tempered in the second
stage and then transitioned to the third stage of all-rounded health, including natural,
social and mental power. In face of fierce international competition, industrialization
and marketization have to be accelerated either for the sake of national security or
public needs. Ecological civilization is to offset the negative effects of industrialization and marketization and create conditions for all-round human development.
China has to carry out the dual tasks of industrialization and building an ecological
civilization, which are both in unity and opposition, as intensively reflected in cities.
It is indeed very hard to forge cooperation in environmental protection while we are
571
phenomenon in question according to basic principles. After the reform and opening
up, the old ossified organizations in rural areas disintegrated and villagers assumed
a large extent of freedom in economic activities, who, having gained experience
in different places, on different occasions over several decades, have established
different lives. When they gather together again, each member’s attitude toward
these lives can be regarded as the “macro parameter” of the system. Given the traditional Chinese culture, working together to improve the environment and getting rich
through ecological civilization is very likely to become the prevalent attitude, which
is the “order parameter” in synergetics. The order parameter strongly influences every
member’s thoughts and actions, which gradually evolve into a general will. Against
such a background, the members are easily inspired by social changes and supportive
policies to work in coordination and push the system toward a common goal, thus triggering the “phase change” from disorder to order. The inspiring external factors are
called “control parameter.” The word “control,” according to Haken, means guiding
and adjusting, while the decisive factor on the system’s phase change is cooperation among the members, which usually takes the form of building a “community,”
such as the “community of ecological interests.” A community isn’t necessarily an
economic entity. It could be a group bonded by interests, in which every member is
both an actor and a manager. There is generally a leader or leaders, but they don’t
interfere in the members’ actions.
A city is a complex mega-system, and a big city is a super one, in which the categories and scope of social activities are far beyond the reach of rural areas. City is the
center of industrialization which has three major features. The first is intensiveness,
which refers to the high level of compression of space and the intensive utilization of personnel and equipment. The second is synchronization, which refers to the
high level of compression of time and the uniform arrangement of work and life. The
third is standardization, which refers to the high level of compression of structure and
the front-to-end standardization of everything, from details to the general assembly.
Human expertise is extended in one direction amid these three features, which keeps
raising the quantity and quality of products. The three features essentially constitute a heter-organization, and consumption that is attached to the production system
is a part of this system. They seem unconnected but there is a connection—wild
consumption and wild production are in a mutual cause-and-effect relation. This is
the “human dependence on things,” and the result is metamorphosis of both man and
nature. Marx divided individual development into three stages—mutual dependence
between men, human dependence on things, and all-rounded development of man.
In the first stage, man’s essential power is weak, but it is tempered in the second
stage and then transitioned to the third stage of all-rounded health, including natural,
social and mental power. In face of fierce international competition, industrialization
and marketization have to be accelerated either for the sake of national security or
public needs. Ecological civilization is to offset the negative effects of industrialization and marketization and create conditions for all-round human development.
China has to carry out the dual tasks of industrialization and building an ecological
civilization, which are both in unity and opposition, as intensively reflected in cities.
It is indeed very hard to forge cooperation in environmental protection while we are