China’s leaders rediscover Confucianism - Daniel A. Bell
In the International Herald Tribune, Daniel Bell writes:
Marxism no longer serves as Chinese society’s guiding ideology. But that doesn’t mean the end of ideology. Western experts hope liberal democracy will fill the void, but they will have “joined Karl Marx,” as the Chinese used to say, before that happens.
In China, the moral vacuum is being filled by Christian sects, Falun Gong and extreme forms of nationalism. But the government considers that such alternatives threaten the hard-won peace and stability that underpins China’s development, so it has encouraged the revival of Confucianism. [Full text]
For more on Daniel Bell’s views on Confucianism and Chinese politics, listen to his interview on the NPR program On Point. Read also a People’s Daily editorial about modern uses of Confucianism, and a response from The Useless Tree blog.
