“The World Belongs to All” (天下为公) – China: Between Confucianism, Marxism and Democracy

• Authors: Karl-Heinz Pohl

Abstracts

EN

The teachings of Confucius – as a tradition of social ethics – have exerted a profound (and continuing) infl uence on China (and East Asia) for more than 2000 years. This paper will look closer into this tradition by focusing less on the ethical and more on the political role of Confucianism. As will be shown, though, the two cannot be neatly divided but form an inseparable whole respective of personal and social ethics with political relevance. Thus, in the following, Confucianism will be discussed as a tradition of political thought, first regarding its major autochthonous concepts, such as “people-based thought”, “humane rule”, “harmony” or “the world shared by all alike”, second and third, in relationship to Marxism and democracy. In this final section, Michael Sandel’s book: Democracy’s Discontent will serve as a point of comparison for Chinese prerogatives in politics.

Keywords

EN

Political role of Confucianism; ancient Chinese thinkers; Chinese modernity; Chinese Marxism; democracy with “Chinese characteristics”

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
• Journal: Azja-Pacyfik
• Year: 2019
• Issue: XXII
• Pages: 29-49

Dates

published

2019

Contributors

author

Karl-Heinz Pohl

• Trier University

References

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Identifiers

DOI

10.15804/ap201902

Biblioteka Nauki

1955859