一九八０年代末期臺灣的農民運動：事實與解釋

THE FARMER'S MOVEMENT IN TAIWAN IN THE 1980s: Facts and Explanations

本文旨在追溯和釐清八０年代末期台灣農民運動興起的背景及其特徵。首先，本文對戰後實施的土地改革及其對塑造新生的家庭小農階級性格的影響進行歷史與結構的分析。土地改革後的小農基本上是具有保守與低度動員力的一群，對國民黨的「威權統合主義」，也無法經由農民團體的集體力量有任何有效的挑戰，或改變其土改後所實施的擠壓式農業政策。小農保守性格和威權統治體制及可被用來解釋為什麼台灣戰後數十年裡，竟然都未發生過農民運動的主要原因。同時，在鄉村政治結構裡中所孕育出來的「恩護主義」也大大削弱的農民組織的自主力量。其次，針對八０年代末期所「突然」興起的大規模農民運動，本文企圖提出若干剖析。依據過去幾年內農民運動的重要記事，有幾點重要的觀察值得一提。農民運動的勃興是在解嚴成為事實的那一年（1987），因此它與台灣整體社會政治轉型有著相當密切的關係。八０年代以來，台灣內部國家與民間社會的關係已產生了質與量的變化，而且在解嚴之前也已有數種社會運動儼然成形，這些外在條件的變化乃刺激了小農，使其轉變長期以來被壓抑的「受害意識」，而產生了自我動員的能力，於是許多地方性的自主農運團體（如各地的農民權益促進會）乃獲得生機與成長，並屢屢透過街頭抗爭的手段向國家機關施展直接的壓力，以抨擊國家的農業政策和抗議國家統合主義的支配。從初步觀察看來，過去三年來台灣的農運特色當可以「向上抗爭」，向威權統合主義施壓，來加以勾勒；也因此，農運在「向下紮根」，改變既存的恩護主義政治體制上，便相對地顯得薄弱和尚未落實。最後，本文對此一新興的小農「商品改良運動」提出若干展望，作者認為今後的農運方向應將「運動領域」從城市和政治核心地區轉回到農村和農民的生活空間裡面，以同時落實農民運動亦應轉變地方政治權力關係的另一目標。

This paper aims to trace and delineate the origins and characteristics of the farmer's movement in Taiwan in the 1980s. First, a historical and structural analysis of the formation of the conservative outlook and the demobilized character of the post-land-reform small farming class in Taiwan is presented. The KMT's authoritarian corporatism has long deprived grass-root farmers' organizations from being effective in challenging or confronting the state's squeezing agricultural policies. These two social structural factors can be attributed to the absence of any significant farmers' movement during the post-war era of Taiwan's capitalist industralization. Secondly, a chronological assessment of Taiwan's farmer's movement between 1987 and 1990 is presented followed by an analysis of the background of the sudden emergence of the changing relations between the civil society and the state. It points out that the farmer's movement in the late 1980s was inspired and induced by the rise of other social movements whichbegan in the early 1980s. Such external changes then made possible the mobilization of small farmers' 'victim consciousness' and the formation of various autonomous farmers' rights associations, both of which made strong demands to change the state's agricultural policies as well as the state corporatist dominance over the small farmer class. After describing the unique nature of the small farmer's commodity reform movement, this paper will then provide some observations of its future prospects. It argues that such rural movement should put more emphasis on improving education and organization among the farmers to further empower the small farmer class and to continue its collective actions in reforming the state's policies on agrarian development in the 1990s.