ABSTRACT The exchange between so‐called Confucian democrats and Confucian meritocrats has become one of the most prominent and sustained discussions within the field of Anglophone Confucian political philosophy. This article offers a thematic overview of these discussions and argues that three main points of contention have so far driven the debates: (a) the weight of the normative value of meritocratic rule, (b) the extent to which the people's political shortcomings should influence Confucian theorising and (c) the appropriate degree of democracy that contemporary Confucian theories of government should embody. In this article, each of these issues is critically examined to reveal the lay of the land. In doing so, the article offers an informed entry point for readers seeking to understand both the current state and the potential for pushing the boundaries of one of the most contentious philosophical debates of our time.
Elena Ziliotti (Fri,) studied this question.