Title
Where Does Confucian Virtuous Leadership Stand?
Document Type
Article
Department or Administrative Unit
Philosophy and Religious Studies
Publication Date
10-2009
Abstract
At the twenty-second World Congress of Philosophy held in Seoul, Korea, from July29 to August 5, 2008, a panel was convened to debate the ideas for a ‘‘democracywith Confucian characteristics’’ in Daniel A. Bell’sBeyond Liberal Democracy(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006).While all participants welcome theattempt to remedy the shortcomings of liberal democracy with Confucian teachings,Fred Dallmayr worries that Bell’s political thinking for an East Asian context may‘‘point beyond democracytout court.’’ For Sor-hoon Tan, Bell’s chapter 6, ‘‘TakingElitism Seriously: Democracy with Confucian Characteristics’’ may not be so muchan alternative to liberalism as it is a challenge to the democratic value of equalitythat overlooks the dangers of an imperfect meritocracy. Chenyang Li, on the otherhand, approaches Bell’s proposal of combining a Confucianism-inspired UpperHouse of Talent and Virtue selected through competitive examinations with a lowerhouse of democratically elected representatives from the concern that it surrendersthe Confucian requirement of virtuous leadership. This feature review also concludeswith a spirited reply from Daniel Bell.
Recommended Citation
Li, C. (2009). Where Does Confucian Virtuous Leadership Stand? Philosophy East and West 59(4), 531-536. https://doi.org/10.1353/pew.0.0079
Journal
Philosophy East and West
Rights
Copyright © 2009 University of Hawai‘i Press
Comments
This article was originally published in Philosophy East & West. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.
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