The East Asian challenge for democracy: political meritocracy in comparative perspective

Contents......Page 9
Contributing Authors......Page 11
Acknowledgments......Page 17
Introduction......Page 19
 The Theory of Political Meritocracy......Page 25
 The History of Political Meritocracy......Page 31
 Political Meritocracy Today......Page 35
 Concluding Words......Page 42
Section I The Theory of Political Meritocracy......Page 47
  I. Political Meritocracy and Meritorious Rule......Page 49
  II. Abdication and Heredity......Page 50
  III. Meritorious Rule and Democratic Elections: Ideal and Nonideal Situations......Page 55
  IV. Mixing Meritocracy and Democracy......Page 59
   A. Reliability......Page 60
   B. Selection by Competitive Examinations......Page 61
   C. Selection by Close Acquaintance......Page 63
   D. Selection by Colleagues: A Proposal......Page 64
   E. The Fact of Disagreement......Page 67
  I. Four Problems with Democracy......Page 73
  II. Nonmeritocratic Solutions and Their Fundamental Limit......Page 75
  III. The Hybrid Regime of Confu-China and Its Superiority......Page 83
  IV. Answers to Challenges to the Superiority of the Confucian Hybrid Regime......Page 91
  V. Confu-China: Incompatible with Liberal Democracy?......Page 97
  I. Introduction......Page 106
  II. Question 3 Is Conceptually Fundamental......Page 108
  III. Question 3 Is Practically Important......Page 109
  IV. Problems with Each Side......Page 112
  V. A Reconstructionist Confucian Meritocracy for China......Page 113
  VI. A Confucian Constitutional Essential for People’s Well-Being......Page 118
  VII. Institutional Implications......Page 125
  VIII. Concluding Remarks......Page 127
  I. Democracy, Meritocracy and Meritarchy......Page 134
  II. Liberal Order and Liberal Philosophy......Page 137
   A. The Argument from Personal Development......Page 141
   B. The Argument from Sinister Interests......Page 142
   C. The Moral Right to a Say in Matters That Affect You......Page 143
   A. Is Democracy Stable?......Page 146
   B. Can Liberal Order Command Sufficient Allegiance in a Democracy?......Page 149
   C. Does Democracy Produce a Moral and Spiritual Leveling Down?......Page 150
 5 Meritocratic Representation......Page 156
  I. Representation, Responsive and Indicative......Page 158
  II. Indicative Representation in Traditional and Existing Practice......Page 160
  III. Indicative Representation at the Individual Level......Page 162
  IV. Indicative Representation and Meritocracy......Page 164
  V. The Attractions of Meritocratic Representation within Electoral Democracy......Page 168
  VI. The Problems with Meritocratic Representation without Electoral Democracy......Page 171
Section II The History of Political Meritocracy......Page 177
 6 Between Merit and Pedigree......Page 179
  I. Background: The End of the Aristocratic Age......Page 180
  II. The Rise of the Shi: Background......Page 183
  III. “Elevating the Worthy”: The Beginnings......Page 185
  IV. The Discourse of Worthiness and the Shi Pride......Page 190
  V. “Worthiness” Reconsidered......Page 197
  VI. Qin and Beyond: Merit versus Worthiness......Page 202
   1. Fairness......Page 206
   2. Morality and Efficiency......Page 207
   3. Flexibility......Page 209
  Acknowledgment......Page 210
  I. Introduction......Page 221
  II. A Brief History of Classical Education and Civil Examinations......Page 226
  III. Meritocracy and Examinations......Page 230
   A. Social Reproduction......Page 232
   B. Political Reproduction......Page 233
   C. Overlaps between Economic and Cultural Reproduction......Page 235
  IV. Power, Politics, and Examinations......Page 237
   A. Literacy and Social Dimensions......Page 239
  V. Delegitimation and Decanonization......Page 241
  VI. Reform and Revolution......Page 242
 8 Meritocratic Democracy......Page 250
  I. Democracy versus Meritocracy?......Page 251
  II. The Constitutional Conception of Democracy......Page 255
  III. Constitutional Democracy’s Accountability Spectrum: from Responsiveness to Responsibility......Page 258
  IV. American Constitutional Democracy: Responsive and Responsible Representation......Page 260
  V. Popular Sovereignty and Competence?......Page 267
  VI. Democracy and Meritocracy Today......Page 269
Section III Realizing Political Meritocracy Today......Page 275
  How East Asians View Meritocracy: A Confucian Perspective......Page 277
  The Confucian Asian Values Debate......Page 278
  Good Government......Page 280
  Virtuous Leadership......Page 282
  Politically Passive Citizenry......Page 284
  Virtuous and Capable Leadership......Page 285
  Politically Passive Citizenry......Page 289
  Citizen Welfare......Page 291
  Overall Level of Support for Confucian Meritocracy......Page 293
  Popular Support for Democracy......Page 294
  Confucian Meritocracy and Cultural Democratization......Page 297
  Summary and Conclusion......Page 300
 10 Political Meritocracy in Singapore......Page 306
  I. Scholars and the Selection of the Political Elite......Page 307
  II. Rewarding Meritocratic Elites: The Market-Based System of Ministerial Pay......Page 311
  III. New Authoritarianism and Meritocratic Elitism......Page 314
   A. Darwinian Economic Warriors......Page 317
   B. The Denigration of Honour and Sacrifice......Page 320
  V. Democratic Reaction to Meritocratic Elites......Page 323
  VI. Conclusion......Page 325
 11 Meritocracy and Political Liberalization in Singapore......Page 332
  I. Meritocracy and Ideological Hegemony: From Survivalism to Developmentalism......Page 335
  II. The Institutionalization of Political Meritocracy......Page 340
  III. Neoliberal Globalization: Meritocracy Hardens and Begins to Crack......Page 342
  IV. Counter-Hegemonic Leadership and Alternative Ideological Formations......Page 346
  V. Challenging Meritocracy: What Is at Stake?......Page 351
  I. A Brief History of China’s Civil Service Examinations......Page 358
  II. Current Civil Service Examinations......Page 366
  III. Recent Reform Toward “Scientific and Democratic” Selections......Page 370
  IV. Connections with Individual Corruption?......Page 375
 13 Reflections on Political Meritocracy......Page 381
  I. Some Doubts about Political Meritocracy in General......Page 382
  II. Political Merit in Real-Existing Democracies (REDs)......Page 383
  III. The Centrality of Representation in REDs......Page 384
  IV. Two Key Compromises with Regard to Political Merit......Page 385
  V. Some Queries about Nonelected Representation......Page 387
  VI. Toward an Institutional Redesign of REDs?......Page 388
  VII. Concluding with a Question......Page 390
 14 Political Meritocracy and Direct Democracy......Page 393
  I. Rebooting California’s Dysfunctional Democracy......Page 396
   2. Initiative Reform......Page 400
   3. The Citizens Council......Page 402
  III. The Next Steps......Page 406
  IV. Lessons of the California Experience......Page 407
Index......Page 413