Abstract

Confucian political philosophy is enjoying a renaissance. In the last two decades a number of significant monographs in English have appeared, to say nothing of the Chinese studies that are virtually beyond count. If they have a common theme, it is that Confucian politics is an extension of its ethical thought. Confucian politics is not a mere application of techniques for producing order, as in Legalism, nor does it separate politics and personal morality, as in liberalism. Considering a wide array of sources, in Classical Confucian Political Thought: A New Interpretation, Loubna El Amine notes how prevalent the view is that the goal of politics is moral transformation. It is precisely...