Towards Confucian Republicanism : Democracy as Virtue Politics

Towards Confucian Republicanism proposes that the future of Confucianism as a political philosophy rests with developing a Confucian republican democracy as its main institutional manifestation in the modern world. Diving deep into the Confucian classics, the book analyzes the main driving force behind Confucianism’s long-standing tendency toward authoritarian rule. While Confucianism’s political ideal demands the cultivation of an independent and virtuous people, the constraints of reality encourage Confucians to adopt authoritarian hierarchy as the main sociopolitical order, which allows a gradual transformation toward Confucianism’s moral and political ideal. However, this authoritarian hierarchy is self-defeating in the long run: rather than bringing about moral transformation, it systematically discourages virtuous development on a large scale. As such, Confucianism should reject authoritarianism not because of any external values or reasons, such as faith in equality or freedom, but for reasons internal to the tradition itself. This book proposes that Confucianism stands a much better chance of realizing its political and moral ideal by developing a partnership with republicanism, one that would enable not only good governance but also collective virtuous cultivation. In outlining this Confucian republican democracy, the book addresses pressing issues in contemporary political philosophy such as virtue politics, balance of power, civic education, public reason constraint, and the role of civil society. The synergy between Confucianism and republicanism can generate a hybrid political order that can reach the aspirations of these two old political traditions in face of the challenges of the modern world.