By Daniel A. Bell
Westerners are likely to divide the political international into "good" democracies and "bad" authoritarian regimes. however the chinese language political version doesn't healthy smartly in both classification. during the last 3 a long time, China has developed a political method which could most sensible be defined as "political meritocracy." The China version seeks to appreciate the beliefs and the truth of this precise political procedure. How do the beliefs of political meritocracy set the normal for comparing political growth (and regress) in China? How can China stay away from the dangers of political meritocracy? and the way can political meritocracy top be mixed with democracy? Daniel Bell solutions those questions and more.
Opening with a critique of "one individual, one vote" as a manner of selecting best leaders, Bell argues that Chinese-style political meritocracy may also help to therapy the most important flaws of electoral democracy. He discusses the benefits and pitfalls of political meritocracy, distinguishes among alternative ways of mixing meritocracy and democracy, and argues that China has developed a version of democratic meritocracy that's morally fascinating and politically strong. Bell summarizes and evaluates the "China model"—meritocracy on the best, experimentation within the center, and democracy on the bottom—and its implications for the remainder of the world.
A well timed and unique publication that may fan the flames of curiosity and debate, The China version seems at a political procedure that not just has had an extended heritage in China, yet may turn out to be an important political improvement of the twenty-first century.
Daniel A. Bell is Chair Professor of the Schwarzman students software at Tsinghua collage in Beijing and director of the Berggruen Institute of Philosophy and tradition. His books contain Spirit of towns, China’s New Confucianism, past Liberal Democracy, and East Meets West (all Princeton), and he's the editor of the Princeton-China Series.
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Additional info for The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy
Example text
We could not have made a living. But the Chinese then would have wanted it. And if we had taken the vote, we would have had to follow that policy. ”, it’s childish rubbish. We are leaders. . They say people can think for themselves? Do you honestly believe that the chap who can’t pass primacy six knows the consequences of his choice when he answers a question viscerally, on language, culture and religion? But we knew the consequences. We would starve, we would have race riots. 79 Today, English is the lingua franca in Singapore and the race riots from the more democratic era of the 1960s are a distant memory.
Still, for purposes of citizenship, none of this should matter; the large majority of people can and should be educated to be rational voters and twelve or thirteen years of compulsory schooling should suffice. 37 We know what we want and we will vote in ways that satisfy our Is Democracy the Least Bad Political System? 38 A common critique of this view is that voters should not be too selfish. Voting is not like going to a movie; if I watch a bad movie, I waste my own time but do not impose costs on other people.
Partly inspired by Singapore, China has evolved a sophisticated and comprehensive system for selecting and promoting political talent (see chapter 2). As a result, the Chinese government has a high proportion of economists and scientists willing to experiment on the basis of trial and error (most of whom could not have been elected in a democratic context), and several hundred million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty over the past three decades. The meritocratic ideal—the idea that government officials are selected and promoted on the basis of ability and morality rather than political connections, wealth, and family background—is still a long way from the political reality in China.