The Logic of Institutions cover

The Logic of Institutions

Rating 4.0
Word count
258K words
Chapters
208
ISBN
9787208154391

Tags

Summary

The Logic of Institutions, originally titled Random Talks on Institutions, was published by the People's Publishing House in May 2005, when it was one of the offerings for the centenary of Fudan University. After publication, the book was welcomed by teachers, students, and readers. The first edition of The Logic of Institutions was an abridged volume compiled by Cao Peilin's students Liu Jianjun and He Liyu from his past writings, in order to reflect the outline and course of his academic research. This revised and enlarged edition uses the first edition as its base text and mainly excerpts and adds Cao Peilin's academic papers, essays, interviews, and speeches at some academic conferences from the past decade or more. The three editors, Liu Jianjun, Tang Yalin, and Du Huan, tried to preserve the original appearance of the book, added to each chapter according to similar themes, and expanded the last chapter into three chapters, increasing the original ten chapters to twelve. While adding material, they also made technical adjustments to some words, sentences, and paragraphs. After the draft was completed, Cao Peilin personally reviewed the entire text and finalized it. To distinguish it from the first edition and to highlight the book's core theme, the revised edition was retitled The Logic of Institutions.

Editor's review

The Logic of Institutions is an integrated work embodying the long-term research efforts of political scientist Professor Cao Peilin. According to an online search, the book has a high rating of 8.5 on Douban; its value lies not only in its systematic review of institutional theory but also in the author's distinctive analytical framework integrating Chinese and Western perspectives. Professor Cao Peilin has worked for decades in the field of comparative political institutions and was a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University; his academic lineage is clear, and his views are measured and profound.

The book's core contribution is that it does not stop at describing the surface of institutions but probes the internal dynamic mechanisms of institutional formation, change, and maintenance. The author treats institutions as a "living" system of rules and explores how they evolve through interaction with culture, history, and social structure. The book's comparative analysis of Chinese and foreign political institutions is especially incisive: it avoids simple judgments of superiority or inferiority and goes beyond mechanical transplantation theory, displaying a historical and dialectical view of institutions.

For readers, the value of reading this book lies in its strong explanatory power. It provides a set of analytical tools for understanding the rule systems around us (from national constitutional systems to community norms). In an era of frequent institutional change, understanding the "logic" of institutions helps us more clearly perceive the deep motivations and possible directions of change and avoid superficial disputes. The book's language is rigorous but not obscure, and its argumentation is solid, reflecting the profound academic foundation and problem consciousness of an older-generation scholar. It is an excellent guide and reference for entering the fields of political science and institutional research.

Who it's for

A good fit for

  • Upper-year undergraduates and graduate students in political science, public administration, sociology, and related fields, as in-depth professional reading.
  • Knowledgeable readers with a strong interest in comparisons of Chinese and Western political institutions and the modernization of national governance.
  • Practitioners in policy research, public affairs, or organizational management seeking theoretical frameworks to understand how institutions actually operate.
  • Readers who enjoy intellectually profound, rigorously argued social science works and are not satisfied with superficial introductions.

Not a good fit for

  • General leisure readers expecting light reading or novel-like narratives to learn about institutions.
  • Readers seeking immediate policy interpretation or analysis of hot-button events; this book focuses on basic theory and long-term logic.

Reading tips

  1. It is recommended to read the introduction first to grasp the author's core questions and the book's overall framework, then choose chapters of interest for deeper reading.
  2. While reading, reflect on specific institutional phenomena you have observed and try using the book's conceptual tools for analysis.
  3. Readers unfamiliar with comparative politics may supplement some background knowledge or read this alongside more accessible popular works on institutions.

About the publisher

Shanghai People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Shanghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list focuses on academic monographs and general-interest titles in philosophy, social sciences, politics and law, economics and management, and history. Among its books are Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties History in the Chinese Dynastic History series; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in foreign literature; the Wenjing Classical Translation Illustrated Edition of The Complete Greek Tragedies of Euripides; and works of social theory such as Max Weber's Economy and Society and Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Its authors include Wang Zhongluo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luo Niansheng, and Zhou Zuoren.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序
  3. 新版说明
  4. 第一章 制度比较擦亮政治分析的眼睛
  5. 制度研究纵横谈
  6. 制度比较擦亮政治分析的眼睛
  7. 政治制度的阶级属性
  8. 制度是活的东西
  9. 政治制度的“和而不同”
  10. 比较政治制度研究的鼻祖
  11. 比较政治制度研究方法
  12. 政治制度的内外与表里
  13. 第二章 制度发展也是硬道理
  14. 20世纪是人权制度发展的世纪
  15. 国家权力核心从议会走向行政
  16. 国家职能从“统治”走向“治理”
  17. 官僚制从完善走向失范
  18. 民主选举制度陷入困惑
  19. 政党制度面临现代化的挑战
  20. 苏东改制与重新定位
  21. 中国的“二次革命”
  22. 欧洲非国家体系的创造
  23. 制度发展也是硬道理
  24. 政治制度具有开放的秉性
  25. 比较政治制度为什么要首先研究英国
  26. 英国政治制度精义
  27. 第三章 中西文化“和而不同”
  28. 中西文化分叉点
  29. 中西文化分叉的地缘因素
  30. 中西文化分叉的商业因素
  31. 西方文化对血亲关系的逐步削弱和破除
  32. 中国文化对血亲关系的强化和放大
  33. 中西启蒙的不同逻辑
  34. 华盛顿的政治遗产
  35. 知识经济背后的知识传统
  36. 卢梭论立法者
  37. 评卢梭的《社会契约论》
  38. 法治是公共政治
  39. 第四章 议会政治的历史与现实
  40. 现代议会的开端
  41. 传统议会与现代议会
  42. 普选制的历程
  43. 普选制的不同形态
  44. 议会的世纪
  45. 没有代议制就没有现代民主
  46. 为资产阶级政府加冕的“现代教皇”
  47. 多数原则与少数原则
  48. 现代政治“学校”
  49. “跛足的两院制”
  50. 美国两院的默契是两院制长期稳定的“秘密”
  51. 政党是英国“议行结合”的黏合剂
  52. 政党与民主
  53. 议行权力分立体制
  54. 半总统制政府
  55. 议会政治是程序政治
  56. 议会权力的虚化
  57. 议会政治危机的根源
  58. 议会政治危机的实质
  59. “理想上最好的政府形式”
  60. 议会与行政权力关系改革
  61. 议会的自我改革
  62. 通向政治文明的不二法门
  63. 第五章 现代民主制度的形态演变
  64. 行政集权民主制
  65. 行政集权独裁制
  66. 行政集权权威制
  67. 道德集权民主制
  68. 共同参与民主制
  69. “社区”不等于“自由人联合体”
  70. 道德集权民主制的优越性
  71. 重建公共权力的道德立场
  72. 西方民主制度的两个传统
  73. 现代民主制度的四个基本原理
  74. 分权制衡的三种模式
  75. 瑞典的“Ombudsman”制度
  76. 不“黑暗的”中世纪
  77. 虚君不“虚”
  78. 原始积累运动中的英国政府
  79. 多层次的地方自治
  80. 复合分权
  81. 地方自治与地方分权不可分离
  82. 直接民主制的历史命运
  83. 直接民主与社会主义民主
  84. 第六章 政府与市场:社会进步的两个“轮子”
  85. 社会进步的两个“轮子”
  86. 维持正义的两种力量
  87. “看不见的手”与“看得见的手”
  88. 政府的“拐杖”功能
  89. 经济体制转型中的国家与产权
  90. 苏联解体的又一种解释
  91. 多元化的市场经济
  92. 小的管不了,大的就管不好
  93. “第三只手”
  94. 社会职能不决定国家阶级属性
  95. 从国家起源看社会职能
  96. 不可混淆“治事”与“治人”
  97. 西方国家机器的膨胀
  98. 社会职能的分化与发展
  99. 职能变化与机构扩张
  100. 政府职能扩张的阶段性
  101. 政府职能扩张的有限性
  102. 政府职能扩张的财政性
  103. 战后西方政府体制改革
  104. 政府的纵向联系与横向联系
  105. 第七章 优化政府体系是理性的呼声
  106. 政治体制改革的三条路径
  107. 中国政治体制改革的三个阶段
  108. 政治体制改革的三种模式
  109. 政治体制改革的“先行官”
  110. 人事制度改革的根本是尊重人
  111. 辩证看待机构改革的“循环怪圈”
  112. 不要误解体制改革的目标
  113. 行政高效化
  114. 评“行政三分”
  115. 从“希望工程”反思政府责任
  116. 对“以德治国”的误解
  117. 政府改革也要“以人为本”
  118. 人类文明离不开政治治理
  119. 优化政府体系是理性的呼声
  120. 政府体系优化的两大目标
  121. 政府体系优化的十个领域
  122. 政府体系优化不能毕其功于一役
  123. 政府体系优化要避免西方中心论
  124. 政治发展的经济路径
  125. 从政府转变到政府发展
  126. 政府要注意保养自己的权威
  127. 转变职能不是减轻任务
  128. 机构改革不等于精简机构
  129. 中国需要一个强有力的政府
  130. 关键是转变政府的“无形”职能
  131. 中央与地方关系的动态平衡
  132. 对“转变”政府职能的困惑
  133. 第八章 经济扩张的政治后果
  134. 重温两百年前的那场争论
  135. 制约欲望的三种方式
  136. 利益制约欲望
  137. 制约欲望的两种政治企图
  138. 经济扩张改进政治的两条路线
  139. 走出利益制约欲望的循环怪圈
  140. 第九章 政治文明的基本要素
  141. 社会资本是一种新的解释框架
  142. 资本主义发展视野中的社会资本理论
  143. 治理与社会资本
  144. 人民的权利是法治的精髓
  145. 政治文明的基本要素
  146. 政治文明与政治知识化
  147. 政治知识化促进制度成长
  148. 政治知识化培育现代公民文化
  149. 政治知识化的思维机制
  150. 政治知识化的动力机制
  151. 政治知识化的社会条件
  152. 政治知识化的制度机制
  153. 让制度运转起来的政治知识化
  154. 在制度运转中推进政治知识化
  155. 政府与民间组织的关系问题
  156. 对待民间组织的“管”与“不管”
  157. 社会转型中的政治信任问题
  158. 学术体制与智库功能的发挥
  159. 第十章 改革开放与国家治理的进步
  160. 透过经济看政治
  161. 处理好国权、政权与人权的关系
  162. 改革开放成就的制度评估
  163. 全面深化改革的制度解读
  164. 腐败的六个要素与反腐败
  165. 邓小平对制度弊端的认识
  166. 走出“历史周期率”的必由之路
  167. 探索制度评价的基本标准
  168. 发展社会主义必须注重制度建设
  169. 中国式民主就是中国民主
  170. 中国民主的核心是人民当家作主
  171. 比较研究是解读“中国模式”的钥匙
  172. “中国模式”热问题的冷思考
  173. 国家治理与民主治理的比较
  174. 国家治理与法治德治的关系
  175. 三种全球治理模式的历史比较
  176. 中国与多极政治全球治理模式
  177. 第十一章 中国政治学的反思与重构
  178. 政治学入门谈
  179. 中国政治学缺乏解释力
  180. 中国政治学中事实与价值的分裂
  181. 马克思主义“大政治”观
  182. 当代中国政治学发展的机遇
  183. 政治是经济的集中表现
  184. 中国政治学的三个来源与整合
  185. 理论创新的艰难与崇高
  186. 走向科学的中国政治学
  187. 走向实际的中国政治学
  188. 走向世界的中国政治学
  189. 中国行政伦理学的使命
  190. 中国政治学的改进方向
  191. 中国政治学的重构发展
  192. 第十二章 比较政治研究在中国的发展
  193. 评阿尔蒙德的《比较政治学》
  194. 阿尔蒙德及其结构功能主义
  195. 阿尔蒙德与《当代比较政治学》
  196. 阿尔蒙德的比较方法及其批评
  197. 《比较政治学》译事与影响
  198. 中国比较政治学的历史命运
  199. 比较政治制度基础上的拓展
  200. 比较政治的基础是国别研究
  201. 比较政治制度的三个“更重要”
  202. 中国比较政治学的三个走向
  203. 比较研究与中国的政治发展
  204. 比较政治研究中的话语差异
  205. 对比较政治议题的若干遐想
  206. 比较政治与民主化研究问题
  207. 编后记
  208. 增订后记

FAQ

Is this book highly theoretical? Does it require a professional background to understand?
This is indeed an academic work with a strong theoretical and systematic character, but the author's discussion is clear, and key concepts are explained. Readers with some foundation in social science reading can understand it; those with no professional background at all may need more patience.
Does the book mainly discuss Chinese institutions or Western institutions?
The book adopts a comparative research perspective: it deeply analyzes the history and logic of Chinese institutions and also systematically explores the evolution and characteristics of major Western political institutions, distilling reflections on the nature of institutions through comparison.
Is this book closely related to current social reality?
The connection is profound but not direct. The book aims to provide a deep logic and long-cycle understanding of institutions; such understanding can help readers see through the superficial complexities of reality and more fundamentally grasp the roots of various institutional changes and governance issues, rather than offering direct commentary on current affairs.

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About the author

曹沛霖 Author

Cao Peilin is an author known primarily for writing in the field of politics. Publicly available information is currently limited, and his nationality, dates of birth and death, and full academic background cannot be confirmed. One work by him is held in the collection, The Logic of Institutions, which is classified under politics and serves as the main basis for understanding his writing. Judging from the title and category, the author focuses on how institutions take shape, how they operate, and the logical relationships behind them, placing the work within the discussion of political science and institutional studies. His writing appears not content with listing concepts, but rather seeks to clarify the internal mechanisms of institutional operation and to offer readers a framework for analyzing political phenomena. Because verifiable information is scarce, his life and intellectual trajectory cannot be elaborated; readers may use The Logic of Institutions as an entry point to appreciate his way of thinking and argumentative style on institutional issues.

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