Daniel Bell: Can Confucianism Save The World?
Confucianism can save the world with its interpretation of the world but it depends on what context and which crisis we are addressing.
Daniel Bell focused on two main issues that are hanging above us right now which are ecological instability of life and equality within states and globally. When these two issues are used to answer the question, whether “Can Confucianism Save the World? The answer should be yes. The ecological instability is due to the lack of harmony with nature which can be resolves using Confucius ideology. Regarding the equality in global aspects, the main problem is that individuals have focused on their happiness regardless of the impact on other people or nature. Bell makes a good point saying that these preferences
currently ruin the future for the coming generation. Harmony is the key to solve the problem for both the major issues. Having respect and using peace to create something big will help value the world we live in alleviate the problems we have. Using Confucianism, it can teach us that pursuit of individualism is not the focus. Bell uses the idea of Political meritocracy which is a political system designed to select political leaders with above average ability to make morally informed political judgments. He made this point because it goes back to Confucius teaching which says “Learning without thinking is useless. Thinking without learning is dangerous” (The Analects, Chapter 15, Book 2). The Analects focus intensively on Confucius’s disciples learning despite their position in society which emphasizes that everyone is entitled to an education. This broadens the goal of teaching and raises the position education holds in society. This thought in education has had great historical influence dating back to the civil service exams.
Even though political meritocracy might fix the problem of equality, it seems far more unrealistic. Having leaders with virtue who think about the future rather than their term in presidency is difficult to come across. However, I think if the public generated and demanded such a leader, the leaders will have no choice but to think about the upcoming future which will essentially have a global impact. This solution is more realistic in China than United States. As stated in the presentations, China has the power to shake the world with its global impact so if one country can make a difference using these concepts, other countries will use it as a model to follow along with.
Daniel Bell focused on two main issues that are hanging above us right now which are ecological instability of life and equality within states and globally. When these two issues are used to answer the question, whether “Can Confucianism Save the World? The answer should be yes. The ecological instability is due to the lack of harmony with nature which can be resolves using Confucius ideology. Regarding the equality in global aspects, the main problem is that individuals have focused on their happiness regardless of the impact on other people or nature. Bell makes a good point saying that these preferences
currently ruin the future for the coming generation. Harmony is the key to solve the problem for both the major issues. Having respect and using peace to create something big will help value the world we live in alleviate the problems we have. Using Confucianism, it can teach us that pursuit of individualism is not the focus. Bell uses the idea of Political meritocracy which is a political system designed to select political leaders with above average ability to make morally informed political judgments. He made this point because it goes back to Confucius teaching which says “Learning without thinking is useless. Thinking without learning is dangerous” (The Analects, Chapter 15, Book 2). The Analects focus intensively on Confucius’s disciples learning despite their position in society which emphasizes that everyone is entitled to an education. This broadens the goal of teaching and raises the position education holds in society. This thought in education has had great historical influence dating back to the civil service exams.
Even though political meritocracy might fix the problem of equality, it seems far more unrealistic. Having leaders with virtue who think about the future rather than their term in presidency is difficult to come across. However, I think if the public generated and demanded such a leader, the leaders will have no choice but to think about the upcoming future which will essentially have a global impact. This solution is more realistic in China than United States. As stated in the presentations, China has the power to shake the world with its global impact so if one country can make a difference using these concepts, other countries will use it as a model to follow along with.