中国的私营企业主支持民主吗？此研究发现整体上他们拥有民主价值观念，但是他们认为民主在中国不可行，所以他们选择维持现状。通过分析一份全国性问卷调查数据，本文指出中国的私营企业主比其他的中产阶级和劳动阶层更加可能支持民主价值观念，在控制了相关的政治性，区域性和基本的个人特征的影响之后，这样的差异依然存在。用结构化方程模型分析一份针对 2071 位私营企业主的问卷调查数据进一步表明私营企业主的民主价值观念并不受他们与政府的政治联系的影响。和政府有各种联系的私营企业主并没有比其他企业主更加保守。然而通过与他们的深度访谈，文章发现拥有民主价值观念的私营企业家同时也支持政府。他们认为民主在中国并不可行，至少在目前这个阶段。因此，他们倾向于选择维持现状。 / Do private entrepreneurs in China support democracy? This study shows that in general, private entrepreneurs find democracy desirable, but their concern with the feasibility of democracy predisposes them toward maintaining the status quo. Drawing on a national survey, this research indicates that Chinese private entrepreneurs are more likely to have democratic values than the non-entrepreneurial middle class and working class, controlling the effects of relevant political, regional and demographic factors. An analysis of a survey data on 2071 private entrepreneurs further shows that politically embedded entrepreneurs are not significantly less likely to endorse democratic values than non-politically embedded entrepreneurs. In-depth interviews suggest that private entrepreneurs who have democratic values tend to argue that democracy is infeasible in China, at least in the near future. In real life, they adopt a pro-government stance in their economic, social and political activities. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Jin, Shuai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-51). / Abstracts also in Chinese.

In 1992, Ross Perot, billionaire entrepreneur from Texas, headed the most powerful independent presidential candidacy of the twentieth century, garnering nearly 19 percent of the popular vote. Perot's rhetoric demanded fundamental reform through a seemingly contradictory message calling for both individual responsibility and collective patriotism and sacrifice: corporate populism, a traditional, albeit profoundly paradoxical ideological appeal. Perot spoke of rekindling the "American Dream" for the next generation, whose prospects appeared bleak because of a post-Cold War credit crisis and withering of the United States' industrial base. He saw linkages between this crisis and a host of social problems, and advocated controversial solutions that made coalition-building difficult. Perot looked to his followers to develop consensuses on many issues of the day. Heading a "grassroots" movement organized from the top down, with disciples from all points on the ideological compass, however, Perot found consensus a rare commodity. As a result, his campaign lacked cohesion. Perot's methods, personality, and wealth raised disturbing questions about the future of representative democracy, but his unfolding campaign also highlighted shortcomings in American electoral institutions and processes. Perot's treatment by the press, for example, provides a case study of the mass-production of political portraits and the impact of those images. That so many citizens voted for a man often portrayed as a suspicious, morally rigid, unscrupulous, vengeful demagogue indicates how widely disaffection with American political institutions had spread. Tapping this discontent, Perot created the potential for a new kind of politics in the United States. He catalyzed discourse on policy issues like foreign trade, welfare reform, military policy, and Executive branch responsibility. He focused attention on chronic problems like the national debt, the annual budget deficit, and the insolvency of "entitlement" programs like Social Security and Medicare. His presence seems to have provoked an unusually high turnout on election day. He helped pioneer a new era of direct dialog between candidates and citizens through the use of interactive and electronic media. Finally, Perot's candidacy symbolizes the emergence of a new centrist political movement--a force which in 1994 began to dramatically reshape the American political landscape.