A Confucian Constitutional Order: How China’s Ancient Past Can Shape Its Political Future by Jiang Qing (review)

Meritocracy in the Political and Economic Spheres

“…We might be sceptical about this possibility, however, and in the face of such scepticism some political meritocrats have considered ways of using non‐democratic institutions to make politics more reliably meritocratic. These can involve restricting democracy – giving special voting privileges to meritorious elites (Brennan, 2016) – or simply circumventing it – empowering certain elites to appoint lawmakers and executives directly (Bell, 2006:ch.7, 2016, 2020:ch.2, Qing, 2012; Woolridge, 2021:ch.17, Bai, 2021).…”

“…Modern‐day meritocrats propose that competitive examinations can be used to select leaders with desirable personal qualities (Bai, 2021, pp. 73–79, Bell, 2016, p. 89, Qing, 2012, pp. 59–60).…”

“…For example, the various Confucian systems that have recently been proposed implicitly assume that specific Confucian virtues are politically desirable qualities: these are what examinations and peer‐assessment are meant to test for. Chan, in response to Qing, argues against taking Confucianism, understood as a comprehensive doctrine, as the base for political meritocracy, since this threatens to marginalise minority cultures in China and elsewhere (see his response in Qing, 2012, pp. 102–7).…”

“…Others argue that Confucian values are inherently in tension with democracy (Li, 1999, pp. 172–80) or with socialist ideals (see Wang Shaoguang's response in Qing, 2012, pp. 148–58), both of which are highly valued by many groups.…”

“…With the recent publication of Daniel Markovtis's The Meritocracy Trap (2019), Michael Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit (2020), and Adrian Woolridge's The Aristocracy of Talent (2021), the idea that our economic institutions should be designed meritocratically is back as a hot topic in western academic circles. Meanwhile, works such as Jiang Qing's A Confucian Constitutional Order (2012), Daniel Bell's The China Model (2016), Jason Brennan's Against Democracy (2016), and Tongdong Bai's Against Political Equality (2021) have made political meritocracy once again a subject of philosophical discussion, with some Western philosophers embracing epistocracy and a revival of Confucianism among Eastern philosophes.…”