Sungmoon Kim’s new book, Confucian Democracy in East Asia: Theory and Practice has just been published by Cambridge University Press. According to my blurb on the back of the book:
Confucianism is neither ready-made for democracy nor inalterably opposed to it. As Sungmoon Kim shows in this important book, however, a Confucianism worth defending in the complex, multicultural East Asia of today both can and must incorporate a robust form of democracy. Kim deploys a wealth of careful arguments that draw from classical Confucianism, a wide range of Western political theorists, and the distinctive political culture of modern Korea. The result is a rich and provocative work that successfully bridges theory and practice. Anyone interested in the future possibilities for democracy and for Confucianism – whether conjoined or not – will have to take this book seriously.
Cambridge is offering a 20% discount to readers of this blog, though Amazon has the book discounted as well, and may be less expensive (depending on shipping options). In any event, congratulations, Sungmoon!
Thanks, Steve! I found that the whole introduction was available via Amazon’s “Look inside” function.
“Confucian democracy” is another oxymoron. The other one is “Confucian secularism”. Both are “forced marriages” of contradictory terms.
In the case of “Confucian democracy”, Kim has got it wrong if he thinks democracy has to be the accomodating partner of Confucianism. The East Asian patriach had better wise up if he were to take a western wife.
Confucian political theory, predicated on a meritocratic harmonious society of self-cultivated individuals, had its day in the sun. It is an ideology that none could live up to. I am curious to see empirical evidence of Korean practice of “Confucian-based reasoning” in Kim’s book.