How Can the Informal Institutions Regulate Interpersonal Relationship in Small-scale Societies: Observations from Chinese Rural Areas

Abstract

As a result of China's "rural revitalization" strategy, the study of and response to the informal system in rural China has become an area of practical significance. In the process of policy formulation and implementation, the government's macro-level decisions have encountered some obstacles from the informal system in the countryside when they are implemented at the grassroots level. The research question of this paper is how the informal system in rural China regulates interpersonal relationships in small-scale societies. This question is not only related to the study of social structure within Chinese villages, but also a precursor to rational policy making. This paper adopts a case study research methodology, using existing literature and survey reports as research materials, and qualitatively analyzes rural cases from various parts of China, in an attempt to discover the place and role of informal institutions in the field of rural interpersonal relations. This paper analyzes several modes of operation of informal systems that exist in rural areas of China, and focuses on the favor exchange mode among them. The favor exchange model has a strong vitality in traditional societies, and it regulates interpersonal relations in the society by an informal means of moral supervision. But it also carries the risk of becoming corrosive, a risk that can slowly deprive societies of their creativity and possibilities for progress.