How to treat the diversification of the current way of providing for the aged in China

As a traditional mode of providing for the aged in China, family pension has a history of several thousand years. Family support for the elderly is based on the accumulation of personal lifelong labor and is carried out within the family, providing a series of living arrangements for the elderly, such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, and providing for the elderly. The emergence and development of this mode of providing for the aged has its profound economic, cultural and social foundation. Today, with the social transformation from traditional to modern in China, great changes have taken place in China's economy, politics, culture and society, and the traditional family pension model in China is also facing severe challenges. It is an urgent task for the academic circles, the government and the society in China to explore a pension model that is suitable for China's national conditions and can solve the problem of China's aging society.

First, the foundation of China's traditional pension model.

The traditional mode of providing for the aged in China has a history of thousands of years, and its emergence and development have its specific economic, cultural and social basis.

(A) the family-based mode of production is the economic basis for family pension.

Marxism holds that all economic, political and social activities of human beings are based on certain modes of production. China's traditional mode of production is a self-sufficient natural economy. The family is not only a living unit, but also a production unit, and is also responsible for providing various guarantees for its members. The production of things and the production of people mentioned by Marx are embodied in the traditional family unit in our country, and the means of production are owned by family members. Every family member depends on the family's limited land resources to work until they are old, so as to ensure their own living needs. Under this economic model, the elderly in the family not only have the right to control the land and means of production, but also can pass on their agricultural production experience and life skills to the younger generation. When physical and health conditions permit, the elderly can also help their children to take care of their children, which is extremely important for the survival and development of the younger generation, so the elderly are respected and supported by their children. It can be seen that the traditional mode of production makes children inseparable from the elderly, and the elderly will not have the desire to separate from their children.

(B) the traditional "filial piety" culture is the ideological and cultural basis of family pension.

The traditional mode of providing for the aged in China is based on Confucian culture. Confucian culture is a culture of respecting, respecting and supporting the elderly. It advocates the order of the young and the old, and promotes filial piety. Confucian culture emphasizes "filial piety", "respect for the elderly" and "respect for the elderly". Respecting the elderly means being kind to parents and maintaining a peaceful and cheerful appearance in front of parents. "Color is difficult. Disciples who have something to do serve them; There is wine and food, sir. Have you ever thought that this is filial piety? " In other words, if you just support your parents and give them wine and meat at every meal, it is not "filial piety". True filial piety is kindness to parents, a kind of heartfelt love, showing a gentle tone, a cheerful attitude and a humble attitude. "Respecting the elderly" means giving full understanding and respect to the elderly. Confucius pointed out: "filial piety today is to be able to raise, as for dogs and horses, all can be raised;" Disrespect, why not? " This means that parents should be respected, respected, and only disrespected, no different from dogs and horses. Confucian filial piety is based on respecting the old and loving the young, which is the core of China's traditional filial piety culture. The Book of Filial Piety regards filial piety as "the classic of heaven, the meaning of earth, the trip of man and the foundation of virtue". China's traditional filial piety culture also puts forward the behavior and standard of "filial piety". "Parents are here, don't travel far, you must travel well." "In the year of parents, you must know. One is happy and the other is afraid. " As children, we should care about the health of our parents. When you disagree with your parents, you should "not be your enemy" and be filial to your parents. "After my parents persuaded me several times, I didn't follow my wishes, but I didn't respect them. I am old and have no complaints. " In other words, if the parents are at fault, the children should gently persuade them; If parents don't want to listen, respect them and don't offend them. The ancient filial piety culture gave birth to China people with strong filial piety concepts and behaviors. It has become an ideal life for the elderly in China to live at home and enjoy services and care from their children and grandchildren.

(c) The family structure of several generations living under one roof provides rich human capital for family pension.

"Four generations under one roof, children and grandchildren around their knees" is a beautiful picture of family harmony and happiness in China, and it is also a great pursuit of happiness in life. In ancient China, there was a saying that "parents are at home and don't communicate with each other". After marriage, brothers usually live with their parents, two or three brothers and sisters-in-law, and many grandchildren live together in a big family. In such a family structure, there are many family members and prosperous people, so family pension has rich human capital, which can provide adequate care for the elderly from material to time and energy.

Two, the advantages and disadvantages of China's traditional pension model.

(A) the advantages of China's traditional pension model

1. Old people can enjoy family happiness. As the saying goes, "those who know their parents' hearts are like children." "Family pension is the daily life of children and younger generations to take care of the elderly. Their children naturally know more about the living habits, temper hobbies and psychological needs of the elderly than others, and will do their best to take care of their parents. The needs and wishes of the elderly can also be put forward to their children in time, and the communication between the elderly and their children is much easier than others. In this mode of providing for the aged, the elderly live with their children for a long time, and can generally undertake certain housework and take care of their grandchildren when their physical conditions permit. Long-term * * * and life, mutual care and love, communication, generations will have deep feelings. " "Full house for children and grandchildren" and "Children and grandchildren around their knees" enable the elderly in China to enjoy family happiness.

2. Family pension can maintain family unity and enhance cohesion. Family is the cell of society and the foundation of social harmony. The traditional family pension model emphasizes the responsibility and obligation of the individual to the family and its members. People attach great importance to the concept of family and its role in personal development. They believe that family is the most important foundation and platform for individual survival and development, and the relationship between parents and children is the most important social relationship. The long-term implementation of the family pension model has enabled people to establish a solid family concept, enhanced family cohesion and unity among family members, and maintained family harmony and stability. Family members generally attach importance to the family's economic, emotional and social functions, emphasizing consanguinity and kinship. "Blood is thicker than water" and "home and everything" have become people's knowledge.

3. Family support for the aged can meet the spiritual and emotional needs of the elderly. Family can give spiritual comfort to the elderly, who especially cherish and attach importance to their feelings with their children and grandchildren. When they are old and weak, they need emotional communication and spiritual comfort more. The social role played by children in the process of caring for the elderly is very different from that played by the service personnel of social pension institutions. Children's care for their parents is often the unity of the first role and the emotional role. In this caring process, there is a lot of emotional input, and care and love are often from the heart. In this kind of care and love, the elderly get spiritual and emotional satisfaction and avoid loneliness. However, the care of the elderly by the service staff in the old-age care institutions is often the unity of utilitarian and rational roles. The care and care of service personnel for the elderly is often out of instrumental rationality, so this care and care often lacks a kind of warmth, which is exactly what the elderly need most spiritually.

4. Family support for the aged reduces the burden of the state on the old-age security. China's productivity is still relatively backward, and the level of economic development is not high. At the same time, China entered an aging society when the country was not rich, which brought great pressure to the social pension. China's long-term family pension system has saved a lot of financial resources, material resources and manpower for the country to set up pension institutions, and saved the pension costs of the country and society. Family pension is borne by children, taking care of the daily life of the elderly, greatly reducing the burden of the state on old-age security.

(B) Analysis of the disadvantages of the traditional pension model in China.

1. Family pension lacks institutional guarantee, and the living standards of the elderly are quite different. Family pension is an informal pension system formed by social habits and customs, which lacks stability and institutional guarantee. Family support for the elderly is based on the economic conditions of each family. Families with good family economic conditions may have a relatively affluent material life in their later years. In a poor family, the material life of the elderly in their later years may be in short supply. At the same time, the implementation of family pension, the living standard of the elderly is not only restricted by the family economic situation, but also by the moral concept and moral level of their children. In wealthy families whose children lack "filial piety" and moral values, the life of the elderly in their later years cannot be well guaranteed. In modern society, social development and change are facing many uncertain factors, and families are also facing various risks, and the unstable factors of family economic situation are gradually increasing. Unemployment, disasters and diseases may all affect family pension. The family pension model based on the moral level of family individuals and family members will lead to a great gap in the living standards and quality of life of the elderly in their later years due to different family conditions.

2. The family structure of several generations living under one roof is prone to family conflicts and intergenerational conflicts. Contemporary China society is undergoing drastic changes. There are great differences between the older generation and the younger generation in growth environment, social experience and social psychology, which leads to differences in outlook on life, world outlook, way of thinking, lifestyle and hobbies. Generations with different ways of thinking and living habits will inevitably have contradictions and conflicts, which will affect the harmony and stability of the family. Therefore, in contemporary China, both urban and rural elderly people mostly choose to live separately from their children. For example, 199 1 The results of a nationwide family survey show that "as long as housing conditions permit, parents and children tend to live separately: the proportion of parents wishing to live separately from their children is 78.6%, and the proportion of children wishing to live separately from their parents is 77.4%."

3. The old people have low social participation and feel lonely easily. In the traditional family pension model, the elderly basically lose contact with society after they retire or lose their ability to work. The main activity place of the elderly is the family, and the main contact object is the family. The elderly lack concern for social affairs, can't actively participate in social activities, and gradually get divorced from society, which is easy to produce loneliness and loneliness, and affects the quality of life of the elderly. However, children are generally busy at work, and their life pressure is relatively high, so they don't have much time and energy to accompany the elderly. The sense of loss and depression has become a common emotional feeling of the elderly.

Third, the challenges faced by China's traditional pension model

(A) Great changes have taken place in the family structure.

With the development of society and the implementation of the family planning policy, the family structure of China society has undergone fundamental changes, which is reflected in the gradual reduction of family population. According to the main data bulletin of the sixth national census in 20 10 published by the National Bureau of Statistics, the average family population is 3. 10, which is 0.34 less than that of the third national census in 2000. The family population is decreasing, and the number of "4-2- 1" (even 6-2- 1 and 8-2- 1) families will gradually increase in the coming decades. It will be unbearable for a couple to support four (or even more) elderly people and raise a child, both economically and in time and energy. The younger generation can't bear the social pressure and life pressure brought by the aging population, and providing for the aged has become a heavy burden for families. At the same time, the family is becoming smaller and smaller, which makes it impossible for children to give their parents more care and care as they used to live with them. This family structure makes the traditional family pension unsustainable. The function of providing for the aged, which was originally undertaken by the family, will inevitably be transferred to the society. If this problem cannot be solved in time, it will inevitably lead to a series of social problems and affect social stability.

(b) The number of empty-nest families is increasing.

Children are important supporters of family pension, mainly reflected in the number of children and the lifestyle of children and parents. In the case of a "big family" in traditional society, there are many children, which can provide life care, economic support and spiritual comfort for the elderly. Due to the implementation of the family planning policy, the number of children has been greatly reduced; Moreover, with the development of economy and society, the mobility of labor force directly leads to the decline of family pension security function. A large number of urban people go to other places to study, work and even study abroad; A large number of rural young adults go to work in cities and go out to work and do business. Due to the increasing social mobility of young people, a large number of empty-nest families have appeared in China. The report "Research on Home-based Care for the Aged in China" released by the National Committee on Aging shows that "the proportion of empty-nest families (including elderly people living alone) among the urban elderly in China has reached 49.7%, which is very rapid compared with 2000, with an increase of 7.7 percentage points. Our survey of large and medium-sized cities above the prefecture level shows that the proportion of empty-nest families (including living alone) of the elderly is higher, reaching 56. 1%. " More and more elderly people and their children live in different cities and regions. Even if children regularly provide old-age care for the elderly, it is difficult for the elderly to get their children's life care and spiritual comfort, and the old-age care service cannot be guaranteed. At the same time, parents and children gather less and leave more. Over time, the feelings between generations have become more and more indifferent, and family pension has actually existed in name only.

(3) The leading position of the elderly in the family is gradually losing.

The traditional family pension model originated from the agricultural society, and its foundation is the culture of respecting the elderly. The traditional family takes patriarchy and paternalism as the core, and parents are the core and leading position in the family, which is the authority of the family. The elders have absolute constraints on family members, and the younger generation is in an absolute obedience and unconditional dedication to the elders. However, with the development of society, the traditional concept is gradually weakening, the individual's dominant position is strengthening, and the consciousness of equality has become the dominant consciousness of society. This sense of equality and autonomy has gradually penetrated into family relations, changing family intergenerational relations. Old people no longer have absolute authority in the family, and children also have the right to speak in family affairs. Moreover, because young people are good at learning new knowledge and skills, the phenomenon of "cultural feedback" is increasing day by day. Old people no longer have the traditional absolute authority, and they can no longer force their children to accept their views and practices. Moreover, in modern society, young people's contribution to family income greatly exceeds that of the elderly, and their dependence on their parents is greatly reduced, and the leading position of the elderly in the family is gradually losing.

(D) The younger generation's concept of providing for the aged is gradually becoming indifferent.

Filial piety, as a traditional virtue in China, plays an important role in the realization of family pension. However, under the wave of market economy, the traditional "filial piety" has been constantly impacted, and its binding effect on people has gradually weakened, and people's views on family responsibilities and family obligations have been constantly updated and changed. With the strengthening of the younger generation's democratic consciousness and individual independence consciousness, people's recognition of the traditional family pension model is getting lower and lower, and the thoughts and consciousness of the younger generation are more and more in line with the concept of market economy. They pay attention to the realization of personal interests and self-worth, and no longer pay attention to family interests, and there is a tendency to emphasize rights over obligations, interests over morality, small family over everyone, economic interests over consanguinity, traditional morality and filial piety. Because the experience of the elderly is no longer the wealth of children's growth and development, the value of the elderly to their children has further declined. The traditional concept of "filial piety" is gradually losing its function of maintaining family support for the elderly, and the younger generation's awareness of providing for the elderly is gradually fading. Some even regard the elderly as the burden and burden of the family, and sometimes they do not support the elderly or even abuse and abandon them.

Fourthly, the development direction of China's traditional pension model-building a diversified pension model.

With the development of society and the change of family structure, the traditional family pension model in China has been challenged in many aspects. Family support for the aged can no longer solve the problem of providing for the aged in China, and a modern new model of providing for the aged must be constructed. However, China's economic development level is not high, and the total social wealth is not rich enough to rely mainly on social pension. Under the background of such socio-economic development, it is a realistic choice for China society to explore a diversified pension model that relies on the elderly, family, community, society and other forces to serve the elderly, and it is also an inevitable requirement for maintaining social stability and building a harmonious society.

self-sufficiency

Self-care of the elderly mainly means that the elderly should have enough pension funds to achieve economic independence, take care of their own lives when their physical conditions permit, find their own joy and spiritual comfort, and get rid of dependence on their children and others. First of all, the elderly should strengthen their sense of independence and self-care, and save a certain pension for themselves from middle age. Having an adequate pension is a powerful guarantee for your happiness in your later years. The elderly in China, especially in rural areas, spend almost all their life savings on building houses and marrying their sons, and depend entirely on their children's financial support in their later years, which makes their old age life insecure. Secondly, the elderly insist on doing their own things when the body allows. Daily housework activities such as buying food, cooking and washing clothes can not only exercise the elderly, enrich their lives, but also reduce the burden on their children. Thirdly, the elderly should actively participate in social activities and seek spiritual comfort in social participation in order to get rid of loneliness and loneliness in their later years. When health conditions permit, the elderly can participate in some activities organized by the community, such as voluntary service, singing, dancing, chess and cards, which can enrich their spiritual life, reduce their spiritual dependence on their children and improve their quality of life.

(b) pensions for separated families

Separated family support for the aged means that the elderly live separately from their children. Children should do their duty and obligation to support the elderly and give them financial support, care in life and spiritual comfort. Children are still the main body to support the elderly. China's current laws and regulations have clear provisions on family pension. Articles 10 and 11 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly respectively stipulate that "the elderly mainly rely on their families to provide for their old age, and family members should care and take care of them", "the supporters should fulfill their obligations of financial support, life care and spiritual comfort for the elderly, and take care of their special needs", and "the supporters should not refuse to fulfill their obligations of support by giving up their inheritance rights or other reasons". Although family pension faces various difficulties and challenges, according to China's national conditions and the actual situation of economic and social development, the financial resources for socialized pension are still insufficient. The experience of western developed countries also proves that it is difficult for a single socialized old-age care to meet the spiritual needs of the elderly. Family pension has its unique advantages. Oriental culture, especially China traditional culture, attaches great importance to family ethics, and the elderly attach great importance to the sense of security, affection and belonging brought by the family, which can only be felt in the family. Therefore, family pension will still exist for a long time in our country, and it is one of the important ways of providing for the aged in our country. However, the implementation of family pension is also developing from the family pension mode in which the elderly and children live together to the family pension mode in which they live separately. Some scholars call this model "leaving without leaving". Due to the different lifestyles of the elderly and young people, the form of separation is beneficial to both providers from the actual situation. On the one hand, separation can leave the other party with freedom of choice and avoid intergenerational conflicts and family conflicts; On the other hand, when the elderly are sick or in trouble, they can also be taken care of by their children. Children often go home to visit the elderly, and the elderly can also get spiritual comfort. Practice shows that the form of living separately does not make the relationship between the elderly and their children indifferent, but creates a new harmony of family relations because of this distance.

(c) Community home care for the elderly

Community home-based care for the aged is an old-age service system with family as the core, community as the support, day care for the elderly, medical care, domestic service and spiritual comfort as the main contents, door-to-door service and community day care service as the main forms, and professional services from old-age care institutions are introduced. The meaning of "home" in home-based care for the aged extends to the broader sense of the community where the elderly live. On the one hand, this way of providing for the elderly can live at home with other family members, which not only conforms to the living habits and psychology of the elderly, but also relieves the loneliness and loneliness of the elderly living in nursing homes and avoids the disadvantages of providing for the elderly in western countries. On the other hand, the elderly can enjoy the care, life care and professional social services of community home-based care workers. With the rapid development of China's economy, community construction is also developing rapidly. Community plays an increasingly important role in the lives of social members. How to rely on the community to solve the problem of providing for the aged is a very important issue. From June 5, 2008 to1October 29, 2008, the Office of the National Committee on Ageing, the Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Health jointly formulated the Opinions on Comprehensively Promoting Home-based Care for the Aged. The Population and Family Planning Commission and State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China pointed out: "The primary goal of home-based care for the aged in China is: in cities, all communities should strive to provide it during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period. Strive to achieve full coverage of the home-based care service network, continuously enrich service facilities, continuously enrich service contents and forms, continuously expand the service team, and gradually establish, improve and perfect the organizational management system and supervision mechanism; In rural areas, relying on existing facilities and resources, efforts should be made to make about 80% of townships have a comprehensive welfare service center for the elderly, and about 1/3 of village committees and natural villages have a cultural activity and service place for the elderly, and on the basis of building these facilities, the basic service needs of the elderly should be met as much as possible. " According to this spirit, most urban communities in China began to provide home-based care services, providing socialized services for the elderly at home with the main content of solving daily life difficulties. There are two main forms: one is to provide nursing services for the elderly by professionally trained service personnel; The second is to establish a day service center for the elderly in the community to provide day care services for the elderly, and to help the elderly who have no children to take care of or whose children have no time and conditions to take care of them in the form of "home nursing homes" so that they can enjoy a healthy and happy old age. The establishment of community home-based care model will play an increasingly important role in reducing the burden on the state and making up for the shortage of traditional home-based care. Community home-based care for the aged is a new model developed on the basis of traditional family care for the aged in China and socialized service for the aged in western institutions. It not only retains many advantages of traditional family pension, but also draws lessons from the beneficial practices of western developed countries. Community nursing can be used to make up for the deficiency of home nursing and ensure the quality of life of the elderly. It is an ideal pension model with China characteristics.

(4) Mutual support for the aged

Mutual support for the aged is a mode of providing daily care and spiritual comfort for the elderly by relying on the elderly who are healthy and able to take care of others and laid-off workers in the community. Mutual support mode is an extension of family pension, a primary form of socialized pension, a transition from family pension to social pension, and a pension mode in line with the reality of China. Moreover, this mode of providing for the aged has a profound historical and realistic foundation in China.

First of all, mutual support for the elderly can improve the quality of life of the elderly. Because the elderly have the same and similar life experiences, have similar views and opinions on problems and society, and have some similar life feelings, they can exchange their views and opinions together, and it is easy to reach * * * knowledge, so as to eliminate depression and troubles and get spiritual comfort and sustenance, which will play a positive role in forming a happy, positive and healthy psychological state, eliminating psychological loneliness and loss of the elderly and enriching their spiritual life.

Secondly, mutual support for the elderly can enhance the sense of independence of the elderly. In western society, the elderly attach great importance to their independence and dignity. As long as their health permits, they are willing to live in a single house and are proud to take care of themselves. China people are old and often want to be cared for by their children. Therefore, there is a folk saying of "old children" in China. In mutual support for the elderly, the elderly get the service of the younger generation, reducing their dependence on their children. This sense of independence of the elderly reduces the burden and pressure of their children, enabling them to better engage in their own work and career, and the elderly can also get some financial support from their children, which is conducive to building a harmonious intergenerational relationship.

Third, the mutual support of the elderly can promote social harmony. Mutual support for the aged is the life care and spiritual care for the elderly by younger people with certain care ability in the community neighborhood. This mode of providing for the aged has broken through the limitation of the traditional mode of providing for the aged in one family, and is a concrete embodiment of "providing for the old". The old people who are taken care of in the mutual care for the aged are not only their parents and elders, but all the old people who participate in the mutual care for the aged in the community, which embodies a kind of great love and fraternity, and will certainly affect the relationship between people and enhance the harmony between people.

(v) Socialized pension

Socialized pension is a process from family to society, from informal system to formal system. Socialization of providing for the aged is the trend and necessity of social development. The socialization of old-age care mainly includes two aspects: one is the socialization of old-age care resource providers, which mainly refers to the transfer of economic support for old-age care from family to society; Second, it refers to the socialization of those who bear the function of providing for the aged, that is, the family provides life care and spiritual comfort for the aged to the society. The goal of socialization of old-age care is to realize the economic benefits of old-age care, so that both the rich and the poor can enjoy the most basic old-age security, improve the level of old-age care, ensure that the elderly enjoy the fruits of social development, and achieve a sense of security for the elderly. Socialized pension is not a denial of traditional family pension, but a supplement and expansion of family pension function. Our goal of providing for the aged is "a sense of security, happiness and worthiness", which not only provides living space and services for the elderly, but also includes the culture of providing for the aged and sincere care for the elderly. In the process of socialized old-age care, we should advocate some traditional virtues of Chinese culture, such as "respecting the elderly", "respecting the elderly" and "loving the elderly", so that the elderly can be respected in the whole society, so that they can better integrate into the whole social life and realize the social development goal of "everyone regardless of age".