Experimental democracy for China: Dewey’s method
Publication Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
8-2018
Abstract
This chapter explores the relevance of Dewey’s philosophy of democracy for China within the context of Dewey’s historical visit to China (1919–1921) and continuing debates about his influence among the Chinese. Dewey’s pragmatism illuminates certain problems in the contemporary discourses about China’s democratization, including questions whether Chinese culture is an obstacle to democratization and the strengths of a Deweyan approach to articulating a Confucian democracy that could work in China. Dewey’s emphasis on experimentation in social reforms and his fallibilism regarding the political institutions of democracy open up new possibilities for China’s democratization and suggest where one might look to discover the indigenous conditions—the varied experiments being conducted in local governance and civil society—from which a Chinese democracy might be born.
Keywords
Chinese democracy, Confucian democracy, China’s democratization, Experimentation, Political institutions, Social reforms, Culture
Discipline
Asian Studies | Philosophy | Political Science
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Oxford handbook of Dewey
Editor
Steven Feismire
ISBN
9780190491192
Identifier
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190491192.013.41
Publisher
Oxford University Press
City or Country
New York
Citation
TAN, Sor-hoon. (2018). Experimental democracy for China: Dewey’s method. In Oxford handbook of Dewey (pp. ). New York: Oxford University Press.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2841
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190491192.013.41