Legal Collusion: Legal Consciousness under China’s One-Child Policy

Abstract

Why would one person facilitate a community member’s evasion of the law, even when there is nothing tangible in it for themselves? In this article, I draw on stories in Chinese villages under the one-child policy to suggest that the lack of moral legitimacy in a particular law motivates people to help others overcome legal or policy restrictions, especially when there are existing connections and trust among them. It reveals the influential impact of law’s moral legitimacy on people’s responses to legal evasion and the relational nature of legal consciousness. An individual’s existing connections with and trust in those who evade the law often reinforce the sense of obligation to take matters into one’s own hands to help right the wrong that has been done to them. Nevertheless, the consequences of participating in such collusion may reshape expectations and obligations within the community, pushing law-evading citizens to minimize risks for those who are willing to facilitate their evasion of the law. The fluid nature of interpersonal relationships in Chinese society also means that when things go wrong, supportive members may in turn use their insider information against the law-evading citizen to seek revenge or teach them a lesson.