| Chapter 1: | Democratization in Modernizing Societies |
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Leaving such regional implications aside, China is itself important for the study of democracy. Until the country with the world’s largest population and fourth largest economy (on the way to becoming the second largest) becomes a democracy, the assertion that democracy represents a universal value remains contestable.
Value and Democracy in East Asia
Through the years, many have argued that liberal democracy cannot work in East Asia as a form of government. On the one hand, Western scholars argue that Confucian ethics and political philosophy contain many antidemocratic principles (Huntington, 1991). For example, Lucian Pye considers Chinese political culture totally undemocratic (Pye, 1968). Indeed, from time to time, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism receive criticism for being nondemocratic. If citizens believe in nondemocratic values, some critics ask, how can a society build democracy? But on the other hand, some Asian leaders argue that the West’s highly divisive and individualistic democracy goes against the Asian people’s ideal of good government and good society—the “Asian Values” argument (Zabaria, 1994). Hence, it is not that Asian values are undemocratic, it is that democracy does not complement Asian values.
As the ideological foundation for traditional Chinese hierarchical social and political system, Confucianism does contain elements stressing order, hierarchy, and respect for authority. But so does every other kind of ideology that formed the basis of preindustrial social orders. On the other hand, Confucianism and other Asian philosophical traditions also offer ideas, ideals, and elements of a good society and good government, and many of these are humanistic and democratic (Chan, 1998; Tu, 2000b).