Necessity of Participation——Approaching Modern Confucian Politics

Modern neo-Confucianism is confronted with an important problem: How can this cultural tradition which is focused on morality be reconciled with modern democratic politics? Contrary to the view that Confucianism should be confined to moral education, this article believes that Confucianism must develop a kind of politics of participation, resulting from the ideas: first, political participation is a necessary way to cultivate individual morality; secondly, compared with the subjective basis of morality, political authority requires an objective systematic structure rather than mere moral education; thirdly, human fallibility requires that we aid one another through extensive participation in order to reach our shared goals.