Confucianism and Meritocracy in the East Asian Context: Historical, Social, and Political (I)

In contemporary Confucian studies, particularly within English-speaking and Chinese-speaking academic communities, there has been a significant push to reevaluate the Confucian tradition of meritocracy. This reevaluation seeks to highlight how this tradition might offer solutions to some of the inherent challenges faced by Western liberal democracies. Such an exploration of Confucian meritocracy is both necessary and timely, as it aims to rejuvenate East Asian values and offer a notable critique of the democratic crisis. However, a closer examination reveals the current discourse on Confucian meritocracy to be somewhat limited in scope.

As is well known within academic circles, the development of the so-called “China Model” has led some Chinese scholars to argue for increased political authority for elites who possess both knowledge and moral integrity. This model suggests that political participation rights should be allocated based on individuals' moral and political capabilities.

However, it is crucial to recognize that the contexts of meritocracy debates in China and Korea differ significantly. In recent Korean discourse, meritocracy is often championed as a fair criterion, with individual effort seen as the key to personal achievement. Yet, this singular focus on effort has been criticized for exacerbating social inequalities, as it overlooks the impact of income and wealth disparities on individual success. In short, in Korea, the widespread belief in meritocratic justice has paradoxically led to greater social division. Thus, the meritocracy debates in China and Korea present distinctly different discussions.

With these differences in the landscape of discussion in mind, there emerges a clear need to distinguish between political and social meritocracy. Therefore, to fully unleash the critical potential of East Asian discussions on meritocracy and Confucian thought, we need to broaden our analytical lens to include contemporary East Asian experiences of meritocracy, distinct from contemporary China’s political and social context. This expansion necessitates a deeper exploration of the related historical backdrop.

In recognition of the need to expand the discourse on Confucian meritocracy, the Center for the Contemporary Study of East Asian Classics and Critical Confucianism (CCECC) at Sungkyunkwan University, under my direction, and the Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy at the City University of Hong Kong, led by Professor Kim Sungmoon, organized an international conference. Held on February 17-18, 2023, at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, the conference was titled “Confucianism and Meritocracy in the East Asian Context: Historical, Social, and Political.”

The conference aimed to underscore the importance of comprehending meritocracy not just through a political lens but also by appreciating its social dimensions. This multifaceted understanding necessitates a review of not only China’s modern situation but also the varied experiences of other East Asian societies, coupled with an investigation into the historical underpinnings of meritocracy in the region. This special issue publishes a selection of papers from the conference, with plans to delve into these themes further in a subsequent issue. Although these two special issues may not fully resolve the outlined concerns, we are hopeful they will substantially expand the future dialogue on Confucian meritocracy.

Thematically, the conference presentations were organized into three groups: the first set addresses social meritocracy within contemporary East Asian contexts; the second explores the significance of merit in traditional societies, especially regarding the selection of political leaders; and the third examines the philosophical reconstruction of merit within the Confucian tradition in relation to contemporary society. This issue features three papers on the first theme and one addressing the second theme, with plans to cover the remaining topics in future issues.

The papers addressing the first theme, by Sor-hoon Tan and Jiho Oh, concentrate on the adverse effects of meritocratic societies, such as heightened inequality and social division, through analyses of contemporary Singapore and South Korea, respectively. Both authors advocate for a nuanced examination of social meritocracy in conjunction with the trend towards neoliberalism. Similarly, Elena Ziliotti examines the negative social consequences of East Asian economic prosperity, proposing Confucian thought as a valuable framework for tackling these issues. The special issue's final paper, which aligns with the second theme, adopts a historical perspective on merit, with Jeremy Reid and Justin Tiwald comparing the viewpoints of ancient Greek and Confucian thinkers on discerning the virtues of future leaders, thereby underscoring persistent questions about the practicality and effectiveness of meritocratic principles in traditional societies.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2021S1A5C2A02089018).