Author(s)

ZiYuan Zhou^*, QingQing Huang

Affiliation(s)

School of Politics and Public Administration, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming 650504, Yunnan, China.

Corresponding Author

ZiYuan Zhou

ABSTRACT

The modernization of grassroots governance is a key part of Chinese modernization. However, the heavy burden at the grassroots level restricts the improvement of governance efficiency. Although the party and the government continue to introduce measures to reduce the burden at the grassroots level, this stubborn disease is still difficult to eradicate, hindering the modernization process of grassroots governance. Taking L town of C city as an example, this study uses field theory to construct the analysis framework of “field-capital-habitus” and analyzes the realistic pattern of grassroots burden. At the field level, the pressure of superiors, unclear responsibilities, conflicts of interests and service capabilities aggravate the burden; At the capital level, economic deprivation, social capital reset, cultural mismatch and symbolic capital competition lead to low efficiency; At the level of habitus, path dependence, risk aversion and old and new conflicts solidified the burden. The research shows that it is necessary to reconstruct field rules, redistribute capital and reshape habitus and identity in order to eliminate the burden of grassroots. The reform of township institutions can be deepened from the aspects of legalization of rights, responsibilities and interests, accumulation of innovative capital, promotion of habitus transformation, balance technical governance and humanistic care, and explore new interactive models to achieve the dual goals of reducing burdens and increasing efficiency.

KEYWORDS

Field theory; Grassroots burden; Causes and digestion; A new round of township institutional reform

CITE THIS PAPER

ZiYuan Zhou, QingQing Huang. The causes and resolution of grassroots burden from the perspective of field theory——taking the new round of township institutional reform in L town of C city as an example. Social Science and Management. 2025, 2(2): 64-74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/ssm3052.

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