Confucianism for the Modern World

by Edited by Daniel A. Bell , Hahm Chaibong

• ISBN13: 9780521527880
• ISBN10: 0521527880
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-08
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

While Confucian ideals continue to inspire thinkers and political actors, discussions of concrete Confucian practices and institutions appropriate for the modern era have been conspicuously absent from the literature thus far. This volume represents the most cutting edge effort to spell out in meticulous detail the relevance of Confucianism for the contemporary world. The contributors to this book - internationally renowned philosophers, lawyers, historians, and social scientists - argue for feasible and desirable Confucian policies and institutions as they attempt to draw out the political, economic, and legal implications of Confucianism for the modern world. The book is divided in three parts that correspond to the basic hallmarks of modernity as a social and political system - democracy, capitalism, and the rule of law.

Table of Contents

Part I. Confucian Perspectives on Democracy: 1. Constitutionalism, Confucian civic virtue, and ritual propriety Hahm Chaihark

2. The challenges of accountability: implications of the censorate Mo Jongryn

3. Confucian Democrats in Chinese history Wang Juntao

4. Mutual help and democracy in Korea Chang Yun-Shik

5. A pragmatist understanding of Confucian democracy David L. Hall and Roger T. Ames

6. The case for moral education Geir Helgesen

Part II. Confucian Perspectives on Capitalism: 7. Center-local relations: can Confucianism boost decentralization and regionalism? Gilbert Rozman

8. Affective networks and modernity: the case of Korea Lew Seok-Choon, Chang Mi-Hye and Kim Tae-Eun

9. Confucian constraints on property rights Daniel A. Bell

10. Giving priority to the worst off: a Confucian perspective on social welfare Joseph Chan

Part III. Confucian Perspectives on Law: 11. Mediation, litigation, and justice: Confucian reflections in a modern liberal society Albert H. Y. Chen

12. Traditional Confucian values and western legal frameworks: the law of succession Lusina Ho

13. The Confucian conception of gender in the twenty-first century Chan Sin Yee

14. The Confucian family v. the individual: the politics of marriage laws in Korea

Epilogue: why Confucius now? William Theodore de Bary.