What should be done about farmers' affairs? Let farmers discuss and decide for themselves
According to reports, relevant departments in Mengcun County, Hebei, found that during the turnover of some village “two committees” in the county, some cadres who were usually willing to work failed to be reelected. An important reason was that these cadres liked to make decisions on their own when handling matters, so much so that some farmers said: I want cucumbers but you insist on giving me watermelons, why should I support you?
Today, Mengcun County has generally established a standardized working mechanism for village-level affairs in rural areas, allowing the masses to participate in the decision-making, implementation and supervision of village affairs, and many conflicts have thus been resolved. Coincidentally, Nanchang, Jiangxi, has also generally established consultative democratic deliberation bodies in villages and communities where conditions permit. The government hands over to the people for their own discussion some public affairs that the government alone finds difficult to manage or manages poorly, and implements them after consensus is reached, achieving good results.
A cadre in Nanchang said that although government departments previously did a lot, sometimes ordinary people were not satisfied. The main reason is that, with economic and social development, the people's ideas, interests and demands have become more diverse, and their desire to participate in democratic management and realize joint governance has also continued to increase. If government departments do not consult the people in advance and take over all grassroots public affairs, some matters may fail to gain broad consensus, and may even be opposed and unsupported by most people, which can lead to the phenomenon of “the government pays the bill, but the people do not buy it.” For example, if the government plans to build a number of leisure areas in rural areas, where to put a few seats, which fitness equipment to install, and other such issues, it is best to let farmers discuss and decide for themselves; government takeover may be thankless.
Therefore, respecting the people's wishes and needs, changing the model of single-government management and taking everything on itself, actively exploring a new model of grassroots social governance featuring pluralistic governance and win-win outcomes for all parties, and, through developing grassroots democracy, guiding the people to conduct equal and full consultation on matters involving their vital interests, seeking the greatest common denominator of all parties' interests, and striving to reach broad consensus, government action can be expected to achieve twice the result with half the effort, effectively resolve various social conflicts, and promote social harmony and the development of various undertakings.