Abstract

In traditional Chinese society, political system had been formed first; social, economic, and cultural systems, however, were not formally and completely differentiated, thus establishing a privileged political setup. Politics represents “public,” possessing universal values, and it is also the axis around which society revolves. However, a privileged political system also creates a peculiar culture in which people comply in public yet oppose in private. Through personal expansion and buildup, “public” is transformed into “social.” Under such a cultural pattern, Taiwan politics has therefore developed into a partisan culture. Whichever party controls the nation’s politics, it is justified for that party to control its publicness and monopolize public resources. From local governments to national machines, the ruling parties have been operating on the logics of a fraction: they domesticate Taiwan, ruling the nation with “insiders.” This is exactly characteristic of Taiwan politics, and both Chiang Kai-shek’s authoritative government and the DPP government are not exempted. Taiwan, therefore, is rather a “regime” than a genuine “state.” This paper aims to explore how the concept of social has replaced that of public, and the ensuing consequences resulted from the replacement. It also attempts to seek for possible ways or mechanisms to breakthrough such cultural plights.

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