Alienation of Development Subjects, Decline of Community, and Stigmatization of Farmers: Roots of the Weakening Rural Identity among Chinese Farmers

Abstract

Humans are pivotal to rural revitalization and sustainable development. In recent years, numerous studies have noted that issues severely constraining the sustainable development of rural China—such as farmland abandonment, inefficient land use, village hollowing, population aging, and ineffective rural governance—are, to a considerable extent, associated with the declining rural identity of farmers. However, few have conducted an in-depth analysis of the roots of this decline or explored strategies to address it. Using methods such as in-depth interviews and fieldwork, this study discovered three cultural roots of the diminishing rural identity among Chinese farmers: (1) the alienation of development subjects resulting from prioritizing economic growth as the sole goal of rural development; (2) the erosion of village communities due to marketization and modernization; and (3) the stigmatization of farmers under developmentalist ideologies. In response, this paper proposes three strategies to enhance farmers’ rural identity. These strategies aim to foster positive rural identity, encourage active farmer participation in rural construction, thereby providing continuous momentum for the sustainable development of rural areas.