Confucian cultural heritage, political ideology, and government trust in
contemporary China
Abstract
Chinese people have indicated a high satisfaction level with China’s
political system. To explore the factors influencing the high political
satisfaction of Chinese citizens, we conducted a regression analysis and
a moderating analysis on data from the Social Consciousness Survey
completed by professor Ma Deyong. The results show that the Chinese
people’s political satisfaction is high (3.49/5). Moreover, the
Confucian Political Heritage ideology’s citizen-oriented dimension
(β=-0.121***(-4.960),β=-0.121***(-4.960),β==-0.127***(-7.372)),
National Accountability ideology’s stability maintenance dimension
(β=0.061***(5.998),β=0.061 * * * (5.998),β=0.070***(9.731)), the
nation-oriented dimension
(β=-0.045*(-1.460),β=-.094***(-3.232),β=-0.064**(-3.047)), and
high-level government trust (β=0.409***(8.298),β=0.409* * * (8.298),
(β=0.410 * * * (11.832))are the main factors predicting political
satisfaction. The interaction between benevolent government and
grassroots government trust (β=0.045*(2.393)) as well as between the
citizen-oriented dimension and high-level government trust
(β=0.183***(6.562))also significantly predict political satisfaction.
Further, the analysis of different income levels shows that the
Confucian Political Heritage does not predict political satisfaction
among low- and middle-income citizens, but among high income citizens,
the benevolent government dimension does predict political satisfaction
(β=0.008*(0.450)). These findings confirm the theory of cultural change.
Once citizens have gained a certain level of material abundance, they
prefer post-modern liberalism and value a harmonious society, leaning
toward the traditional Confucian political ideal of a society with Great
Harmony. However, notable at all income levels,