Daniel A. Bell — a student of Confucius, dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and a professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing — has long argued that the “China Model” is a morally legitimate alternative to Western democratic systems and the “one person, one vote” standard. In essays and op-eds in The New York Times, The Financial Times, and also in his new book, Just Hierarchies (Princeton University Press), he argues that the return of some of China’s traditional political theories, tracing back to Confucius and others, have in recent decades melded into a socialist, communist and yet meritocratic political system that we should admire. Critics, of course, have savaged him as an apologist for Beijing; and he has responded forcefully, as you’ll read below. What follows is a lightly edited Q&A.
Daniel BellIllustration by Kate Copeland
Q: In your new book, Just Hierarchies, written with Wang Pei, you talk abo
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