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book: Confucian Perfectionism
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Confucian Perfectionism

A Political Philosophy for Modern Times
  • and
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2013

About this book

Since the very beginning, Confucianism has been troubled by a serious gap between its political ideals and the reality of societal circumstances. Contemporary Confucians must develop a viable method of governance that can retain the spirit of the Confucian ideal while tackling problems arising from nonideal modern situations. The best way to meet this challenge, Joseph Chan argues, is to adopt liberal democratic institutions that are shaped by the Confucian conception of the good rather than the liberal conception of the right.



Confucian Perfectionism examines and reconstructs both Confucian political thought and liberal democratic institutions, blending them to form a new Confucian political philosophy. Chan decouples liberal democratic institutions from their popular liberal philosophical foundations in fundamental moral rights, such as popular sovereignty, political equality, and individual sovereignty. Instead, he grounds them on Confucian principles and redefines their roles and functions, thus mixing Confucianism with liberal democratic institutions in a way that strengthens both. Then he explores the implications of this new yet traditional political philosophy for fundamental issues in modern politics, including authority, democracy, human rights, civil liberties, and social justice.



Confucian Perfectionism critically reconfigures the Confucian political philosophy of the classical period for the contemporary era.

Author / Editor information

Joseph Chan is a professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong.

Reviews

"Chan's writing is very clear and wellstructured. His arguments and in-depth analysis of issues shows that he has a thorough understanding of the strengths and limitations of both western liberal democracy and ancient Confucianism."---Andrew T.W. Hung, European Political Science --- "Joseph Chan's book is an exceptionally ambitious yet moderate reconstruction of Confucianism for such an inhospitable world and, as such, it is important both in its own right and as an exemplar of a steadily expanding normative enterprise."---Jiwei Ci, Dao --- "[This book is] at the forefront of contemporary attempts to grapple with the normative and empirical issues presented by East Asian politics and the relationship of those issues with democracy. [It] supplies important insights into, and reasons for, considering alternatives to liberal democracy, but also raises equally important questions and problems related to those alternatives."---David J. Lorenzo, Perspectives on Politics --- "Chan has created a very interesting work in the Confucian tradition of revival and reinterpretations for current times." --- "[T]he political vision that emerges from the pages of this book is reasonable, humane and inspiring."

Topics

  • Publicly Available

    Frontmatter

    i
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  • Publicly Available

    Contents

    vii
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    Foreword by Series Editor

    ix
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    Preface

    xi
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    Introduction. Interplay between the Political Ideal and Reality

    1
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  • PART I. Political Authority and Institution
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    Chapter 1. What Is Political Authority?

    27
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    Chapter 2. Monism or Limited Government?

    46
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    Chapter 3. The Role of Institution

    65
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    Chapter 4. Mixing Confucianism and Democracy

    81
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  • PART II. Rights, Liberties, and Justice
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    Chapter 5. Human Rights as a Fallback Apparatus

    113
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    Chapter 6. Individual Autonomy and Civil Liberties

    131
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    Chapter 7. Social Justice as Sufficiency for All

    160
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    Chapter 8. Social Welfare and Care

    178
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    Conclusion. Confucian Political Perfectionism

    191
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    Appendix 1: Notes on Scope and Methods

    205
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    Appendix 2: Against the Ownership Conception of Authority

    213
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    Bibliography

    233
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    Index

    247
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 16, 2015
eBook ISBN:
9781400848690
Edition:
Course Book
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400848690
eBook ISBN: 9781400848690
Keywords for this book
Confucianism; Xunzi (book); Confucius; Morality; Liberalism; Temperament; Utilitarianism; Exceptional circumstances; Disenchantment; Mencius (book); Just society; Individualism; Standpoint (magazine); Søren Kierkegaard; Phenomenon; Ruler; Respect for persons; Realpolitik; The Myth of the Rational Voter; Public reason; Reasonable person; Political freedom; Heresy; Mandate of Heaven; Equal opportunity; Intelligence; Dominium; State of nature; Fair procedure; Bernard Crick; Common good; Two Treatises of Government; Scientism; Moral absolutism; Political philosophy; Good and evil; Impartiality; Paternalism; After Virtue; Filial piety; Consent theory; Ownership (psychology); Heteronomy; Spontaneous order; Common-pool resource; Religion; Rule of law; Legitimacy (political); Self-ownership; Consequentialism; The Spirit of the Laws; Despotism; Moral example; Freedom of speech; Coercion; Income; Compatibilism; Negative liberty; Toleration; Dignity; Samuel; Authoritarianism; Distrust; Secularization; Self-interest; Deliberation; Simon Blackburn; Karl Jaspers; Jeremy Bentham; Loyalty
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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