Confucian Democracy in East Asia: Theory And Practice
Cambridge University Press, 2/24/2014
EAN 9781107641211, ISBN10: 1107641217
Paperback, 336 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
This book explores a mode of democracy that is culturally relevant and socially practicable in the contemporary pluralistic context of historically Confucian East Asian societies, by critically engaging with the two most dominant theories of Confucian democracy - Confucian communitarianism and meritocratic elitism. The book constructs a mode of public reason (and reasoning) that is morally palatable to East Asians who are still saturated in Confucian customs by reappropriating Confucian familialism and using this perspective to theorize on Confucian democratic welfarism and political meritocracy. It then applies the theory of Confucian democracy to South Korea, arguably the most Confucianized society in East Asia, and examines the theory's practicality in Korea's increasingly individualized, pluralized, and multicultural society by looking at cases of freedom of expression, freedom of association, insult law, and immigration policy.
Part I. Beyond Thick Confucian Communitarianism and Meritocratic Elitism
1. The Confucian social self and its discontent
2. Toward civil Confucianism
3. Against meritocratic elitism
Part II. A Pluralist Reconstruction of Confucian Democracy
4. Value pluralism and Confucian democratic civil society
5. Confucian familialism and public reasoning
6. In defense of Confucian democratic welfarism
7. Rethinking political meritocracy
selection plus two
Part III. Paving an Exemplary Path
The Korean Case
8. Motivating and legitimating Confucian democracy
the politics of ChÃ…Âng
9. Public reason and the liberalism of human rights
10. Confucian civility and expressive liberty
11. Confucianizing multiculturalism.