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• Winner of 2019 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title.

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9780190671235

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[Democracy After Virtue] takes on the ambitious task of reconstructing pragmatic Confucian democracy, which integrates three componentsDLpolitical participation, the value of democracy, and procedure and substance. -- Baogang He, Political Theory This book's contributions to questions important to the quest for Confucian democracy make it required reading for those in the field. -- Andrew Lambert, CUNY College of Staten Island, Review of Politics Sungmoon Kim's new book is the closest thing we have to a fully developed political theory of Confucian democracy. Philosophically sophisticated and sociologically sensitive, it gives a highly distinctive account of what Confucian democracy is in its theoretical basis and normative commitments, how it works in important areas of practice, and why it promises to suit the reality in East Asia better than does either Confucian meritocracy or liberal democracy. Kim's wide-ranging command of democratic theory on the one hand and contemporary political Confucianism on the other makes this book also an excellent overview of the entire field. -Jiwei Ci, The University of Hong Kong This meticulously argued book will further solidify Sungmoon Kim's reputation as a leading theorist of Confucian democracy. Kim's main goal here is to show what happens to Confucian political theory when one takes democracy deeply seriously. The book's two parts do this both abstractly and then with regard to concrete issues that have either been little-treated in the literature (criminal law) or discussed in ways that Kim shows to be open to new and distinctive approaches (economic equality and international relations). -Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University With the increased scholarly attention devoted to comparative political theory, this volume serves as a much- needed refinement of Confucian political thought... The first part of the book presents an overview of the author's own interpretation of the most vital version of this stream of political thought, which is described as pragmatic Confucian democracy. Chapters 2 and 3 evaluate the importance of democracy theory to Asian political thought, compare Schumpeter to Dewey, and examine the necessary balance between procedure and values. The second part of the book offers a study of pragmatic Confucian democracy in relation to specific policy concerns, including criminal justice challenges, economics, and humanitarian intervention. -- H. L. Cheek Jr., East Georgia State College

Sungmoon Kim's new book is the closest thing we have to a fully developed political theory of Confucian democracy. Philosophically sophisticated and sociologically sensitive, it gives a highly distinctive account of what Confucian democracy is in its theoretical basis and normative commitments, how it works in important areas of practice, and why it promises to suit the reality in East Asia better than does either Confucian meritocracy or liberal democracy. Kim's wide-ranging command of democratic theory on the one hand and contemporary political Confucianism on the other makes this book also an excellent overview of the entire field. -Jiwei Ci, The University of Hong Kong This meticulously argued book will further solidify Sungmoon Kim's reputation as a leading theorist of Confucian democracy. Kim's main goal here is to show what happens to Confucian political theory when one takes democracy deeply seriously. The book's two parts do this both abstractly and then with regard to concrete issues that have either been little-treated in the literature (criminal law) or discussed in ways that Kim shows to be open to new and distinctive approaches (economic equality and international relations). -Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University

With the increased scholarly attention devoted to comparative political theory, this volume serves as a much- needed refinement of Confucian political thought... The first part of the book presents an overview of the author's own interpretation of the most vital version of this stream of political thought, which is described as pragmatic Confucian democracy. Chapters 2 and 3 evaluate the importance of democracy theory to Asian political thought, compare Schumpeter to Dewey, and examine the necessary balance between procedure and values. The second part of the book offers a study of pragmatic Confucian democracy in relation to specific policy concerns, including criminal justice challenges, economics, and humanitarian intervention. * H. L. Cheek Jr., East Georgia State College *

This book's contributions to questions important to the quest for Confucian democracy make it required reading for those in the field. -- Andrew Lambert, CUNY College of Staten Island, Review of Politics Sungmoon Kim's new book is the closest thing we have to a fully developed political theory of Confucian democracy. Philosophically sophisticated and sociologically sensitive, it gives a highly distinctive account of what Confucian democracy is in its theoretical basis and normative commitments, how it works in important areas of practice, and why it promises to suit the reality in East Asia better than does either Confucian meritocracy or liberal democracy. Kim's wide-ranging command of democratic theory on the one hand and contemporary political Confucianism on the other makes this book also an excellent overview of the entire field. -Jiwei Ci, The University of Hong Kong This meticulously argued book will further solidify Sungmoon Kim's reputation as a leading theorist of Confucian democracy. Kim's main goal here is to show what happens to Confucian political theory when one takes democracy deeply seriously. The book's two parts do this both abstractly and then with regard to concrete issues that have either been little-treated in the literature (criminal law) or discussed in ways that Kim shows to be open to new and distinctive approaches (economic equality and international relations). -Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University With the increased scholarly attention devoted to comparative political theory, this volume serves as a much- needed refinement of Confucian political thought... The first part of the book presents an overview of the author's own interpretation of the most vital version of this stream of political thought, which is described as pragmatic Confucian democracy. Chapters 2 and 3 evaluate the importance of democracy theory to Asian political thought, compare Schumpeter to Dewey, and examine the necessary balance between procedure and values. The second part of the book offers a study of pragmatic Confucian democracy in relation to specific policy concerns, including criminal justice challenges, economics, and humanitarian intervention. -- H. L. Cheek Jr., East Georgia State College

"""[Democracy After Virtue] takes on the ambitious task of reconstructing pragmatic Confucian democracy, which integrates three componentsDLpolitical participation, the value of democracy, and procedure and substance."" -- Baogang He, Political Theory ""This book's contributions to questions important to the quest for Confucian democracy make it required reading for those in the field."" -- Andrew Lambert, CUNY College of Staten Island, Review of Politics ""Sungmoon Kim's new book is the closest thing we have to a fully developed political theory of Confucian democracy. Philosophically sophisticated and sociologically sensitive, it gives a highly distinctive account of what Confucian democracy is in its theoretical basis and normative commitments, how it works in important areas of practice, and why it promises to suit the reality in East Asia better than does either Confucian meritocracy or liberal democracy. Kim's wide-ranging command of democratic theory on the one hand and contemporary political Confucianism on the other makes this book also an excellent overview of the entire field.""-Jiwei Ci, The University of Hong Kong ""This meticulously argued book will further solidify Sungmoon Kim's reputation as a leading theorist of Confucian democracy. Kim's main goal here is to show what happens to Confucian political theory when one takes democracy deeply seriously. The book's two parts do this both abstractly and then with regard to concrete issues that have either been little-treated in the literature (criminal law) or discussed in ways that Kim shows to be open to new and distinctive approaches (economic equality and international relations).""-Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University ""With the increased scholarly attention devoted to comparative political theory, this volume serves as a much- needed refinement of Confucian political thought... The first part of the book presents an overview of the author's own interpretation of the most vital version of this stream of political thought, which is described as pragmatic Confucian democracy. Chapters 2 and 3 evaluate the importance of democracy theory to Asian political thought, compare Schumpeter to Dewey, and examine the necessary balance between procedure and values. The second part of the book offers a study of pragmatic Confucian democracy in relation to specific policy concerns, including criminal justice challenges, economics, and humanitarian intervention."" -- H. L. Cheek Jr., East Georgia State College"

Sungmoon Kim's new book is the closest thing we have to a fully developed political theory of Confucian democracy. Philosophically sophisticated and sociologically sensitive, it gives a highly distinctive account of what Confucian democracy is in its theoretical basis and normative commitments, how it works in important areas of practice, and why it promises to suit the reality in East Asia better than does either Confucian meritocracy or liberal democracy. Kim's wide-ranging command of democratic theory on the one hand and contemporary political Confucianism on the other makes this book also an excellent overview of the entire field. -Jiwei Ci, The University of Hong Kong This meticulously argued book will further solidify Sungmoon Kim's reputation as a leading theorist of Confucian democracy. Kim's main goal here is to show what happens to Confucian political theory when one takes democracy deeply seriously. The book's two parts do this both abstractly and then with regard to concrete issues that have either been little-treated in the literature (criminal law) or discussed in ways that Kim shows to be open to new and distinctive approaches (economic equality and international relations). -Stephen C. Angle, Wesleyan University

Author Information

Sungmoon Kim is Professor of Political Theory at City University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Confucian Democracy in East Asia: Theory and Practice and Public Reason Confucianism: Democratic Perfectionism and Constitutionalism in East Asia.

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