Title: Chinese Conceptions of Democracy in the Republican Period: A Non-Marxist PerspectiveSubmitted by: Edmund Fung, Professor of Asian Studies, School of Marketing, International Business and Asian Studies, University of Western Sydney, AustraliaThis paper explores Chinese conceptions of democracy in the Republican period from a non-Marxist perspective. It considers a variety of factors that shaped Chinese liberal views on democracy, factors that were both objective and subjective, political and philosophical. It shows that the democratic values held dear by Chinese thinkers were universalistic yet culturally distinct, instrumentalist yet normative. Further, the paper discusses the traditional anti-capitalist bias of China's modern intellectuals who saw a nexus between socialism and democracy. As the Chinese civil war entered a decisive phase after 1945, many began to conceive democracy in light of the needs of the Chinese revolution while strongly defending the core values of liberalism. Return to Abstracts menuCarol Burnett Phone: 61 - 3 - 9349 1899 Email: c.burnett@asialink.unimelb.edu.au
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