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Document Details : Title: Hierarchical Meritocracy and Equal Ways of Good Life Author(s): TIAN, Xu Journal: Ethical Perspectives Volume: 30 Issue: 1 Date: 2023 Pages: 41-57 DOI: 10.2143/EP.30.1.3291695 Abstract : Daniel A. Bell and Pei Wang’s new book raises a problem brought by political meritocracy that the competition of climbing the ladder of success will unavoidably cause misery for the losers and sow seeds of social disorder. The only way to justify the Confucian-inspired political hierarchy, therefore, is to organize a political system that does not value the Confucian idea of serving the public as the only and highest form of good life. In this article, I will first argue that the concern for social disorder caused by fierce political competition does not serve as the ultimate reason for affirming the value of nonpolitical ways of life in a Confucian society. I will demonstrate that Confucianism would treat a nonpolitical way of life as meaningful as the political as long as we find the congruence between Confucian Junzi and modern citizenship. I will conclude with an endeavor to examine whether a mobility notion of Junzi-citizenship would support a well-functioning political meritocracy. |
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