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From the Co-Editors Bo
LI & Li-an ZHOU We feel a bit relieved after finishing editing the articles of this issue. Although it is eventually up to readers to judge, we do hope you find the articles in this issue thought-provoking. In this issue, Bo LI continues his discussion of political theory. This time he turns his attention to the value of, and the relationship between, equality and democracy, which has been the focus of much intellectual discussion. The essay provides you with an informed picture of the discussion as well as Bo's thoughts on its relevance. The provision of public goods, a good example of which is environmental protection, has been catching a great deal of attention in economics. Instead of presenting another theoretical model for the public goods problem, as economists usually do, Ying QIAN shares with us her beautiful detour of encountering the Eliots. There is, we think, a good amount of food for thought in Ying's story. Race relations, as we know them, appear to be one of the most sensitive topics of public discourse in the United States. In his essay, Junfu ZHANG touches on the issue of race relations in the United States by taking a historical perspective. Different readers may have different views toward the issue, but they may all find this article worth a read. "Perspectives" has constantly received support from visiting scholars from China. In this issue we publish two articles written by visiting scholars. Hongming XIAO provides an insider's view on the development of legal profession in China. He also predicts the future of the legal profession after China joins the World Trade Organization. Jiquan XIANG presents an article on village elections in China. The article is based on Jiquan's years of field work and research on gross-roots political changes in rural China. Jiquan has a rather optimistic view on the effects of village elections, which is in contrast to the views expressed by another article published by "Perspectives" last year (cf. Ying SHANG, "Myth and Reality: The Chinese Village Elections," Perspectives, Vol. 1, No. 2). As always, we thank our associate and copy editors who volunteer their time and energy to make this publication a reality. We also look forward to your comments and submissions. You can reach Bo LI at bo_li@post.harvard.edu or Li-an ZHOU at zhoula@stanford.edu. |