Introduction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
China Model ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Political Meritocracy ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
Mao Era ◽  
Tyranny Of The Majority

This book argues in favor of political meritocracy using China's one-party political system as example. It considers four key flaws of democracy, along with theoretical and real meritocratic alternatives for each: “the tyranny of the majority,” “the tyranny of the minority,” “the tyranny of the voting community,” and “the tyranny of competitive individualists.” The book also discusses three key problems associated with any attempt to implement political meritocracy and asks whether it is possible to address these problems without democratic elections: the problem of corruption, the problem of ossification, and the problem of legitimacy. Finally, it explores the pros and cons of different models of “democratic meritocracy” as well as three basic planks of the China model and how political reform in the post-Mao era has been guided by the principles of “democracy at the bottom, experimentation in the middle, and meritocracy at the top”.

Concluding Thoughts

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Active Role ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
China Model ◽  
Political Meritocracy ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Chinese Adaptation ◽  
Mao Era

This chapter considers three basic principles of the China model and how they have guided political reform in the post-Mao era: democracy at the bottom, experimentation in the middle, and political meritocracy at the top. There remains a large gap between the ideal and the reality, however, and the chapter suggests ways of closing that gap, noting that the legitimacy problem is perhaps the most serious threat to the meritocratic system. It argues that the Chinese government may need to secure the people's consent to the Chinese adaptation of vertical democratic meritocracy by means such as a referendum. It concludes by discussing the exportability of the China model: while the model as a whole cannot readily be adopted by countries with a different history and culture, its different planks can be selectively adopted and the Chinese government can play a more active role in promoting its model abroad.

Is Democracy the Least Bad Political System?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Bell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political System ◽  
The United States ◽  
System P ◽  
Electoral Democracy ◽  
Political Meritocracy ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
Tyranny Of The Majority

This chapter examines whether democratic elections lead to good consequences, and more specifically whether democracy is the least bad political system. It considers four key flaws of electoral democracy: the tyranny of the majority, the tyranny of the minority, the tyranny of the voting community, and the tyranny of competitive individualists. Using examples primarily from the United States, the chapter challenges the idea that one person, one vote is the least bad way of choosing leaders to enact good policies, rather than provide a comprehensive defense of political meritocracy as an alternative to electoral democracy. It suggests that there may be morally desirable and political feasible alternatives to electoral democracy that help to remedy its major disadvantages. It also discusses examples of actually existing political meritocratic arrangements in China and/or Singapore that may minimize the flaws of electoral democracies.

The China Model

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Bell ◽  
Daniel A. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Political System ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
First Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political World ◽  
China Model ◽  
Political Model ◽  
Political Meritocracy

Westerners tend to divide the political world into “good” democracies and “bad” authoritarian regimes, but the Chinese political model does not fit neatly in either category. Over the past three decades, China has evolved a political system that can best be described as “political meritocracy.” This book seeks to understand the ideals and the reality of this unique political system. How do the ideals of political meritocracy set the standard for evaluating political progress (and regress) in China? How can China avoid the disadvantages of political meritocracy? And how can political meritocracy best be combined with democracy? This book answers these questions and more. Opening with a critique of “one person, one vote” as a way of choosing top leaders, it argues that Chinese-style political meritocracy can help to remedy the key flaws of electoral democracy. It discusses the advantages and pitfalls of political meritocracy, distinguishes between different ways of combining meritocracy and democracy, and argues that China has evolved a model of democratic meritocracy that is morally desirable and politically stable. It also summarizes and evaluates the “China model”—meritocracy at the top, experimentation in the middle, and democracy at the bottom—and its implications for the rest of the world. The book looks at a political system that not only has had a long history in China, but could prove to be the most important political development of the twenty-first century.

Dignitary Interests Groups are the Biggest Obstacles to Solve China’s Environmental Problems

2014 ◽  
Vol 962-965 ◽  
pp. 2023-2026
Author(s):  
Wen Qi Lin ◽  
Ming Fei Ma
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Injustice

China has carried out its reform since 1978. With economic booming, reform in political system followed behind so that three dignitary interests groups have formed: monopolistic entrepreneurs of state-owned companies, bigwig capitalists and bureaucratic corrupters. They are the biggest beneficiary under such a political system and they are also the original cause of social injustice and conflicts. In order to preserve their existing right, they spare no efforts to support current privileged system. They are opposed to the political reform by disturb legislation system and law enforcement. How to break the obstacles from dignitary group and achieve the goal of political reform is one of the most difficult challenges in China.

Electoral system as a motivation to reforming political system- The Iraqi model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamall Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
The Masses

The flaws and major flaws in the political systems represent one of the main motives that push the political elite towards making fundamental reforms, especially if those reforms have become necessary matters so that: Postponing them or achieving them affects the survival of the system and the political entity. Thus, repair is an internal cumulative process. It is cumulative based on the accumulated experience of the historical experience of the same political elite that decided to carry out reforms, and it is also an internal process because the decision to reform comes from the political elite that run the political process. There is no doubt that one means of political reform is to push the masses towards participation in political life. Changing the electoral system, through electoral laws issued by the legislative establishment, may be the beginning of political reform (or vice versa), taking into account the uncertainty of the political process, especially in societies that suffer from the decline of democratic values, represented by the processes of election from one cycle to another. Based on the foregoing, this paper seeks to analyze the relationship between the Electoral and political system, in particular, tracking and studying the Iraqi experience from the first parliamentary session until the issuance of the Election Law No. (9) for the year (2020).

scholarly journals The Future of Meritocracy: A Discussion of Daniel Bell’s The China Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-64
Author(s):  
Yongle Zhang ◽  
Colleen Howe
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Western World ◽  
Confucian Tradition ◽  
World Today ◽  
The Future ◽  
China Model ◽  
Political Legitimation ◽  
Political Meritocracy

Abstract Compared to Wang Shaoguang’s approach to re-interpret the old concept “democracy” to overcome the Schumpeterian model of political legitimation, Daniel Bell’s Political Meritocracy takes a more challenging path, attempting to build a new discourse of legitimacy centering on the concept “meritocracy” and incorporating elements of ancient China’s traditions, the socialist revolutions in the twentieth century, and the system of competitive elections common in the Western world today. This inspiring work is full of incisive arguments, but could be improved by further considering the tension between the Confucian tradition and the revolutionary tradition in the twentieth century.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document