Can Confucianism Survive in an Age of Universalism and Globalization?

the death knell of Confucianism.' What had been the dominant way of thinking and social behaviour in China, Japan, and Korea for centuries found new expression, but no lasting foundation, in each country, as in Taiwan and Singapore.2 Each nation had championed its Confucian identity, whether it was called that or not,3 but later drew back. While global fascination rose over a cultural disposition seen as positive for meeting the challenges of one era, it fell with doubts about any utility in the next. Now globalization via WTO and democratization in South Korea and Taiwan are eroding lingering ideals. It is tempting to simply forget about Confucianism and fix our gaze on the requirements of a different era. Recent discourse supports such an outlook. After the financial crisis, defenders of Confucianism are barely visible. In China the state has turned to great power nationalism rather than Eastern values.4 The interlopers in Southeast Asia who pretended that Asian values are synonymous with