Comparison of Social Control in China and United States

Social control in China sharply contrasts with social control in the United States. In China, the main source of social control is informal. The Chinese rely on morality and family pride to deter crimes. Thus, what you do reflects strongly on your image and family's honor. In addition, the numerous teachings of morality in early childhood have a strong impact on values and mindset. They stress that a person must have self-discipline and subordination to the family and country. The Chinese rely on the social collective to enforce crime.

On the other hand, the United States utilizes formal institutionalized means. The United States controls crime through the state and government (at all levels). The views of society have less influence than institutional actions. There is "an exceedingly active formalized legal system" (Rojek). Because of that, deterrence of crime is through the police, the law, and the court system. For almost all instances of crime the police is the first resort. People call the police for nearly everything. In addition to the police, the court system is extensively used in the United States. The concept of "innocent until proven guilty" is why people constantly resort to the court system. There is the chance that one might avoid punishment for a crime.

The sharp differences in social control and their effectiveness between China and the United States shows a fundamental difference. Each country has a different mindset and is related to the individualistic and collective cultures. While people in China measure crimes and deviance through morality and how it will affect their family's image, people in the United States, for the most part, avoid committing crimes because there is a punishment. It also shows that people with higher power can avoid punishment, which is constantly the case in the U.S. People who can afford to pay the fine will speed. If they get arrested, they can just post bail and then hire the best lawyer. This makes punishment less effective. Contrastingly, social control plays a strong part in China. "Current social control practices include a strong reliance on mediation, massive legal education, and rigorous neighborhood organization strategies" (Rojek).

There is almost an intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation in play. In China, the deterrence of crime is through morality, which is an intrinsic factor. But in the U.S. there are mainly external factors set in place to prevent people from committing crimes. Unfortunately, as a number of psychological studies have shown, extrinsic factors are not as strong motivators as intrinsic factors. While Chinese children are taught what it means "to be a dutiful son, a loyal official, and even a benevolent ruler," American children are taught that committing a crime will lead to severe punishments such as jail time. As shown through studies on spanking children, external punishment does little to change the behavior of an individual. It does not show people the correct form of action. Education and reasoning, however, provides a much stronger and lasting effect on controlling crime. There is a learning process that Chinese children undergo and learn how to act. The most glaring difference is in how children are taught. In the U.S., children are told that "if you do this, you will get this punishment." In China, however, children are taught "you should do this to honor your family" (Chen).

We, in the United States, can learn much from the "old country." Simply relying on the state penal code is not enough to deter violence. Instead, we must incorporate the education of morality. In the United States, we only look down on the individual who committed the crime. If there was more emphasis on group and society, then there would be fewer crimes. Furthermore, if we teach children early on, how to act and emphasize the importance of morality, they will be less likely to commit crimes later in life. The key to changing behaviors is to change the thought pattern. If children are raised in a society that emphasizes morality, not on a law system, they will be more likely to act appropriately. Perhaps the best solution is to incorporate parts from both cultures. The combination of social control and formalized penal system is more effective than only one.