Confucianism and western democracy

To facilitate further debate on the compatibility of Confucianism with Western democracy, this study makes three distinctions. The first distinction is between Confucianism as a doctrine and Confucianism as a state ideology; the second is between the democratic mechanism and the humanistic spirit; the last is among democratic, a‐democratic and anti‐democratic notions. This study defines Confucianism and Western democracy, shows their theoretical similarities and differences, examines the relationship between Confucianism as a state ideology and Chinese authoritarianism, and finally explores the impact of Confucianism on Chinese democratization. This study concludes that Confucianism is neither democratic nor anti‐democratic, but a‐democratic, and that, while not an unsurmountable obstacle to democratization, it offers little help to that process.