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Multiple Modernities: An Alternative to Western Economists? Recommendations for China's Private Law

This article criticizes the recent World Bank report, “China 2030” which formulates a new development strategy for China to rebalance the role of the government and the market as well as the private sector and society. The report deals explicitly with the role that private law should play as a means of economic modernization. The main thesis of this article is that the World Bank report develops a rather one-sided vision of the future of China's private law based on the prejudice that there is only one way to of modernizing Chinese society. In contrast, a sociological view suggests that China's law should develop through “multiple modernities”. There are two dimensions in which this multiplicity of paths to modernity is realized. One is functional: while the World Bank recommends a unifunctional economic modernization, systems theory would follow a multifunctional approach. The other dimension is historical and cultural: while the World Bank perceives a universal transcultural path to modernity, sociological thinking would take into account the varieties of regional cultures in their specific paths to modernity and would stress that specific Chinese characteristics have a strong influence in this process. The article elaborates its thesis on the following issues which are discussed in China's private law (1) the multidimensional role of private law, (2) the horizontal effect of human rights and (3) the role of the political party.