The Democracy of the Ancients: Dewey, Confucius, and the Hope of Chinese Democracy: Dewey, Confucius, and the Hope of Chinese Democracy

Author: David H. Ho
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: This book argues that China, which may gradually dominate global culture in the 21st century, will not be a society belonging to increasingly vulgar individuals, nor will it be the theme park dreamed of by Western entrepreneurs like Netscape or McDonald's. Compared to the skepticism of most Westerners today, it is possible for the Chinese to maintain far richer traditional characteristics and will largely enter the modern world based on their own conditions. This book challenges previous thinking about the relationship between China and the West. According to the two authors, it cannot be assumed that a modernized China in the future will essentially be Western; similarly, it cannot be assumed that only by transitioning to an American-style liberal democracy can individual Chinese hope to improve human rights and freedom.