Review of Economic Philosophy

Tag: Confucianism

  • How well does the Idea of “Community” relate to Confucianism?

    Beginning of the article

    Le mot « communauté » (she qun ; 社群) a été largement utilisé dans le chinois moderne. Dans le milieu universitaire, la notion est invoquée en sociologie aussi bien qu’en philosophie politique, où le concept de « communautarisme » a été largement étudié et discuté comme un exemple typique de problématique confucéenne. La compréhension et la discussion de la « communauté » ne peuvent pas être séparées de la différence entre les notions que l’allemand désigne par Gesellschaft (société, she hui ; 社会) et Gemeinschaft (communauté ; she qun ; 社群). Cependant, Gemeinschaft est un concept relativement récent dans l’histoire des idées au regard du confucianisme, de tradition beaucoup plus longue. Comment la Gemeinschaft pourrait-elle être une problématique typiquement confucéenne ?
    Pour répondre à cette question, nous retracerons la trajectoire d’acceptation de la sociologie occidentale dans la Chine moderne. Nous allons d’abord clarifier la signification spécifique de 社et 群 en chinois ancien, puis discuter la réception du terme « société » à la fin de la période Qing (la dernière dynastie régnante en Chine), et le fait qu’un grand nombre d’instituts (xue hui ; 学会) a émergé à ce moment-là. Enfin, nous discuterons l’acceptation des concepts élaborés par Ferdinand Tönnies de Gesellschaft et Gemeinschaft, et comment le terme Gemeinschaft est devenu une problématique typiquement Confucéenne depuis le vingtième siècle.
    社群 (she qun) est la traduction de « communauté » en chinois moderne…

    Abstract

    The word 社群 (she qun, community, in the sense of the German Gemeinschaft) was certainly not a traditionally Confucian topic. The general ethical understanding of ancient China rested on 三纲五常 (san gang wu chang ; the three disciplines and the five Confucian human relationships). Non-dominant religions, associations and academies were closer to the concept of community. In the late 19th century, modern Western sociological principles were first introduced to China, but intellectuals undoubtedly understood them differently because of traditional values and in reaction to the necessity to fortify the Chinese state. It took until the industrialization era, which started in the late 1970s, for the modern concept of community and society with which it was compared to become well-known in China.

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • « She » et « Qun » (社 et 群)
    • « Qunxue » et « Xuehui » (« sociologie », au sens de Yan Fu, et « Institutions »)
    • « Communauté » et « société » en Chine (sur le mode de la distinction entre Gesellschaft et Gemeinschaft)
    • Confucianisme et communauté
    • Conclusion

    Keywords

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    JEL Classification : B13, B31

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  • Discovering Economics in Chinese Philosophy: Intellectual Searches of the 1910s-1930s

    Table of Contents

    Abstract

    The paper explores the early stages of the development of economic philosophy in China. In the 1910s-1930s scholars with Western economic education applied their knowledge of modern economics to the interpretation of traditional Chinese philosophy. They proposed a new analytical framework for the systematization of ancient Chinese economic ideas focusing on the teachings of pre-Qin sages Laozi, Confucius, Mencius, Mozi, Guanzi. Cross-cultural comparisons placed Chinese concepts into the context of Western economics and social thought.

    Due to these efforts, a set of “economic” quotations from the ancient Chinese sages was formed in the academic literature and it had long-lasting impact on later research in this field. This intellectual endeavor paved the way to establishing the history of Chinese economic thought as a distinct scholarly discipline. Modern economic reading of ancient Chinese thought was linked to the problems of national economic development. Chinese economists of the Republican period analyzed traditional ethical norms, relations between justice and profit, methods of control of human desires and attitudes to consumption in order to find hidden obstacles to the path of China’s modernization. They also highlighted the achievements of Confucian economic thought that could lay the foundation for future success. Critical arguments were presented by various scholars with respectful recognition of the strong influence of Confucian ethics upon the economic life of the Chinese, as we shall examine here.

    The article is based on the study of writings of some major Chinese economists of the Republican era. Chen Huanzhang, Yuan Xianneng and Li Zhaoyi turned to the exploration of traditional Chinese philosophical heritage while pursuing doctorate degrees in the West. Li Quanshi and Tang Qingzeng published books on the history of Chinese economic thought in Chinese language. The comprehensive study of these materials facilitates the task of reconstruction of intellectual searches for an economic interpretation of the ancient Chinese thought. The study of the origins of economic understanding of traditional Chinese philosophy reveals the historical roots of modern economic philosophy in China.

    Beginning of the article

    The path of intellectual exploration of issues in the relationship between philosophy and economics started in China from the 1910s till the mid-1930s. During the Republican period a group of Chinese scholars with Western educational background attempted to find in the ancient Chinese philosophical thought the ideas that correspond to the Western understanding of economics.

    In the process of the development of the history of Chinese economic thought as a distinct scholarly discipline, traditional Chinese philosophy was reinterpreted in the light of inquiries about national development. The researchers looked at the ancient canons and sayings of Chinese sages and were looking for possible reasons that could explain why China was lagging behind the Western world, but also for elements that may facilitate economic modernization of China.

    Professional economists of the Republican period contributed to the development of Chinese economic philosophy through interpretations of traditional thought. They constructed new explanations of the views of the ancient Chinese thinkers through identifying their economic component along with structuring and systematizing ancient philosophical ideas according to the patterns of modern economic knowledge.

    Many Chinese economists turned to doing research into ancient Chinese thought while studying in the United States. There, in PhD dissertations, they explored the economic content of Chinese philosophy. The paper examines the differences in their approaches to the economic ideas of Confucianism and Daoism…

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • Economic interpretation of Confucianism by Chen Huanzhang (1880-1933)
    • Economic reading of Chinese philosophical schools with a focus on Daoism by Yuan Xianneng (1898-1983)
    • Systematization of Chinese economic ideas at the University of Dijon by Li Zhaoyi
    • Introducing the history of Chinese economic thought to China : the views of Li Quanshi (1895-1982)
    • Advanced economic interpretations of Chinese ideas by Tang Qingzeng (1902-1972)
    • Concluding remarks

    Keywords

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    JEL Codes : A12, A13, B20, B11, B31

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  • Property Rights in a Confucian Perspective

    Beginning of the article

    On a longtemps salué, à tort ou à raison, les États d’Asie orientale, tels le Japon et la Corée, pour la combinaison qu’ils avaient su trouver entre un développement économique rapide et une répartition des revenus de plus en plus égalitaire. Même la Chine, qui a connu une augmentation des inégalités au cours des dernières décennies (Jain-Chandra et al. 2018), a accompli un travail que d’aucuns ont pu juger miraculeux pour tenter de sortir 800 millions de personnes de la pauvreté et parvenir à éradiquer totalement l’extrême pauvreté au niveau national de son territoire entier (du moins en était-ce la visée).

    Il y a, évidemment, de nombreuses raisons économiques et politiques qui expliquent les réussites économiques de l’Asie de l’Est. Pourtant, les décisions politiques ont pu également être influencées par des perspectives philosophiques issues de la tradition. Il serait certes déraisonnable d’assumer quelque lien de causalité direct entre les dictons de Confucius ou de Mencius et les résultats des politiques actuelles, mais il serait tout aussi insensé d’écarter la possibilité que les ressources philosophiques aient pu affecter la prise de décision économique, ainsi que la motivation du peuple à agir en accord avec les politiques du gouvernement (ou à les défier). Cet article mettra en évidence que les attendus sous-jacents confucéens de certaines politiques économiques en Asie de l’Est ont, de fait, contribué à développer l’égalité. Quelques réflexions liminaires sur la contribution historique du confucianisme à cet égard sont de mise…

    Abstract

    Throughout Chinese history, Confucians opposed heavy-handed Legalist government control and warned of the negative effects of state intervention in the economy. This did not translate, however, into endorsement of an unfettered private property rights regime. From a Confucian perspective, the state’s obligation to secure the conditions for people’s basic material welfare has priority over the free market and should inform a justifiable regime of property rights.
    Historically, Confucians advocated for abolishing state monopolies in salt and iron during the Han dynasty, whilst Mencius’ well-field system enabled state-led allocation of land with egalitarian aims, showing that their primary concern does not lie with either the extreme of state-control over the economy or the free market, but rather with the well-being of its people.
    Nowadays, the special attention given to Confucian values within East Asian property rights regimes incentivises state-led redistribution of resources with egalitarian undertones, for instance in the form of a high share of public housing in Singapore and Hong Kong or the modern revival of Mencius’ well-field system under Deng Xiaoping in the agricultural sector. In these cases, the people’s access to land and housing guaranteeing their basic material welfare has been prioritized over the existence of a libertarian real estate market. The central value of guaranteeing basic material welfare has been promulgated by Mencius and Confucius alike, as they consider the ensured survival of the people as a necessary precondition for a functioning state order.

    Whilst there has been a widespread belief that Confucianism does in fact oppose private property rights, this essay suggests that Confucianism proposes its own theory of property instead. Rather than challenging property rights per se, it challenges the European and American conceptualisations thereof. Fundamentally, the Confucian theory of property considers property rights to be particularistic and relative to other social considerations, which can override individual rights when required.

    This Confucian notion of property can not only be seen as an alternative to the Western liberal conception of property ; it can also offer a viable starting point for considering a multitude of culturally shaped notions of rights in an international context. Thus, moving away from a West-centric notion and taking other theories such as Confucianism into account can be crucial not only for the Chinese state in designing laws and regulations, but also for the international community when drafting truly international agreements.

    This essay shows how Confucian-style property rights have influenced the workings of East Asian countries with a Confucian heritage and continue to do so today.

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • Réflexions liminaires
    • Sur la sélection de valeurs confucéennes réalisables pour les sociétés modernes
    • La valeur primordiale du bien-être matériel
    • Exporter le confucianisme ?
    • Conclusion

    Keywords

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