IN-EAST News
07.10.2014 - 00:00
Joint Research Forum / Guest Lecture Prof. Daniel A. Bell: The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy
Tue, Oct. 7, 2014, 6–8 p.m
The IN-EAST School of Advanced Studies, the DFG Research Training Group Risk and East Asia, and the Confucius Institute Metropolis Ruhr invite you to the first Joint Research Forum, Fall 2014, where Prof. Daniel A. Bell will introduce the main thesis of his recent book
The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy
to be published in 2015 by Princeton University Press.
Time: Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014, 6–8 p.m.
Venue: IN-EAST School of East Asian Studies, Room SG 183, Geibelstr. 41, 47057 Duisburg
The debate about political meritocracy – the idea that a political system should aim to select leaders with superior ability and virtue – was revived by Singapore, but it has a long history, both in the West (from Plato onwards) and in China (from Confucius onwards). In his talk, Professor Bell will make the following assumptions: (1) it is good for a political community to be governed by high-quality leaders; (2) China’s one-party political system is not about to collapse; (3) the meritocratic aspect of the system is partly good; and (4) it can be improved. But how to judge whether China has improved its meritocratic system? Government officials should be selected and promoted on the basis of ability and morality, rather than political loyalty, wealth, or family background. But which qualities – abilities, skills, and virtues – matter for political leaders in a Chinese context? And what sorts of mechanisms and institutions can increase the likelihood that officials are selected and promoted on the basis of those qualities? This talk will attempt to answer these questions.
Daniel A. Bell is Chair Professor of the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University in Beijing and director of the Berggruen Institute of Philosophy and Culture (Santa Monica). His books include Spirit of Cities, China’s New Confucianism, Beyond Liberal Democracy, and East Meets West (all Princeton), and he is the editor of the Princeton-China Series. More about his book: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10418.html.