Social Governance

It is led by government organizations, involving the participation of various governance subjects such as social organizations. It refers to the governance activities on social public affairs, which centers on realizing and maintaining the rights of the masses, and gives play to the role of multiple governance subjects. It is a process to improve social welfare, guarantee and improve people's livelihood, resolve social conflicts, promote social equity, and promote the orderly and harmonious development of society by targeting at social issues in national governance. Social governance mainly includes social system and mechanism governance, social organization governance, grassroots governance, social issue governance and public security governance, and virtual social governance, etc. Its basic tasks are to coordinate social interests, gather social consensus, solve social issues, resolve social conflicts, respond to social risks, maintain social stability, stimulate social vitality, promote social development, promote social justice, and achieve social harmony.

In 2004, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Sixteenth CPC Central Committee put forward the concept of “social management”. This concept was adopted in the Report of the Seventeenth CPC National Congress in 2007 and the Report of the Eighteenth CPC National Congress in 2012. The “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening the Reform” adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the Eighteenth CPC Central Committee in 2013, put forward the concept of “social governance” in the form of an official Party document for the first time. Social governance and social management are both internally connected and have major differences.

Firstly, the subjects are different. The subjects of social management are relatively single, mainly referring to the government and its functional departments; while the subjects of social governance are diverse, including both the government, and society, market and individual citizens, etc.

Secondly, the contents are different. Social management mainly involves the content of administrative control, while social governance mainly involves that the government, enterprises and social organizations jointly provide various public services for social members, including coordinating social relations, resolving social conflicts, and achieving social harmony, stability and orderly operation.

Thirdly, the methods are different. Social management methods are generally dominated by administrative control, while social governance methods, in addition to administrative methods, also emphasize the use of various methods and means such as law, market, social self-help and mutual aid, and ideological and moral construction, emphasizing consultation and cooperation between subjects, and advocate open, transparent and law-based management activities.

Fourthly, the purpose is different. The purpose of social management is to solve social issues, regulate social order, and maintain social stability, and its ultimate goal is to "stabilize"; while the purpose of social governance is to gather social consensus, optimize social order, promote social development, and promote social harmony, and achieve social co-governance and sharing, and its ultimate goal is to "achieve harmony".

Fifthly, the direction is different. Social management generally involves one-dimensional and top-down administrative orders, while social governance emphasizes two-way and active interactions between multiple subjects. Social governance highlights the interaction and equality between subjects.

Sixthly, the power disposition is different. Social management is mainly based on the centralized management of the government, with simple mandatory order maintenance as the core goal, and its resource allocation is more dependent on power, while social governance emphasizes that government management should delegate more power to the society, and provide opportunities and conveniences for the empowerment of social organizations and individual citizens. Social governance is characterized by legitimacy, rule of law, transparency, responsibility, responsiveness, effectiveness, participation, stability, integrity and fairness. In the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the social governance pattern is the leadership of the Party committee, government leadership, social coordination, public participation, and the rule of law. Compared with the government responsibility in the social management pattern, the government domination in the social governance pattern embodies more the coordinated cooperation and harmonious balance between the Partyand government’s public power and social organizations’ and citizens’ rights. Social governance maximizes the enthusiasm and initiative of citizens, fosters the enthusiasm of citizens to participate in social life, and further strengthens the cooperation between citizens. Social governance embodies the progress of social civilization, and is conducive to gathering positive energy of society, resolving contradictions, and achieving harmonious coexistence between people.The concept reflects the requirements of the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, is an important symbol of democratic progress, and marks an important transformation of the CPC ’s ruling strategy.