China and the West

Dewey, John. Lectures in China, 1919-1920 [ID D28460] :
'Social and political philosophy' in Beijing, sponsored by the National Beijing University, the Ministry of Education, the Aspiration Society and the New Learning Association. = She hui zhe xue yu zheng zhi zhe xue. Hu Shi interpreter, Wu Wang, Fu Lu recorder. In : Xue deng ; Sept. 24 ; Oct. 1, 8, 22 ; Nov. 5, 6, 22, 25, 30 ; Dec. 14, 15, 22, 23 (1919). Jan. 24, 26, Febr. 3, 4, 26, 27 ; March 3, 4, 8, 9 ; April 1, 2 (1920).
'The function of theory'
"This extreme radical statement was followed by the conservative theories of Aristotle, who in his 'Politics', his 'Ethics', and his other books, set forth theoretical bases for the perpetuation of the social and political schemes of his time. The same thing was true in China : the radical theories of Lao-tze were followed by the conservative theories of Confucius."
'Science and social philosophy'
"Here in China a number of people have asked me, 'Where should we start in reforming our society ? ' My answer is that we must start by reforming the component institutions of the society. Families, schools, local governments, the central government – all these must be reformed, but they must be reformed by the people who constitute them, working as individuals – in collaboration with other individuals, of course, but still as individuals, each accepting his own responsibility. Any claim of the total reconstruction of a society is almost certain to be misleading. The institutions which make up the society are not 'right' or 'wrong', but each is susceptible to some degree of improvement. Social progress is neither an accident nor a miracle ; it is the sum of efforts made by individuals whose actions are guided by intelligence… I imagine that most of you in the audience today are students ; and as students, you must be peculiarly aware of the truth of what I have been saying."
'Social reform'
'Criteria for judging system of thought'
'Communication and associated living'
"Or take the history of China : transition from one dynasty to another was always attended by political and social disruption – disorder which continued until the appearance on the scene of some person forceful and powerful enough to subject contending factions to his control.”
“Workers are much better off in America than in China. Their wages are better, and are still increasing ; their working hours are shorter."
"In the history of China, for example, we note that the first emperor of the dynasty was always a strong leader, gifted with imagination and initiative, capable of accomplishing needed reforms, and interested in the people over whom he ruled."
'Economics and social philosophy'
'Classical individualism and free enterprise'
"All in all, what was good for economic development would at the same time and to the same degree be good for the spiritual elements in the social process. This outlook must obviously have considerable appeal her in China, where there has traditionally been so much interference both by the state and by the family elders. There seems to be a rapidly growing trend nowadays to reject the authority of the head of the clan, to have members of the family work more independently and responsibly, and to object to arbitrary interference in personal affairs by officers of the state."
"We have been speaking of the situation in Europe and America, but the issue between laissez faire and government regulation of industry should be of real concern to China, too, particularly at a time when the country is beginning to industrialize so rapidly. Problems of limiting hours of work, of regulating the conditions under which labor operates, of controlling the employment of women and children – these and other related problems must be planned for before the situation becomes serious."
'Socialism'
"There are today in China commercial guilds which, it seems to me, could be exceedingly useful during this period when China is undergoing the transition between cottage industry and full-scale industrial production. It is important for us to determine which aspects of the guild system ought to be preserved, and to discover ways in which we may cultivate professional self-respect by promoting more effective communication among people who are engaged in the same or similar trades… Chinese scholars should engage in research on the guild system, to the end that those aspects of it which can effectively contribute to progress can be conserved."
'The state'
'Government'
"In a book I read a few days ago, the author advances the thesis that Western political systems impose restrictions on government because of the assumption that human nature is inherently evil, while the older political system of China was based on the assumption that human nature is inherently good."
'Political liberalism'
'The rights of individuals'
"But both socialism and individualism have many ramifications. No matter what one's political orientation, he must grant that this is a basic problem. I see it as being of fundamental importance both in the West and in China. But the problem, as it concerns China, has facets which are different from those we see when we look at the same problem as it confronts the West. The problem as it exists in China can be stated as follows : assuming that we agree that our ultimate goal is the fullest possible development of individuals, should China, as the West did, first go through an age of self-seeking individualism, and then employ the power of the state to equalize society as the West has had to do ; or should it amalgamate these two steps and achieve social equality at one stroke ? It seems to me that there are grounds for hoping that China can achieve social equality in one operation. There are three reasons why I say this :
1) The first basis for hope that China can achieve social equality without repeating the sequence of events followed in the West, amalgamating two steps into one, is that she already enjoys the traditional concept of the state's obligation to protect its people, as this was propounded by Mencius. Political individualism has not made headway in China, so that the tradition of the state's obligation to protect its people, which may be likened to the parents' obligation to protect their children, or the emperor's protect his subjects, can readily be modified into the concept of the protection of its citizens by a democratic government.
2) Modern China can achieve equality of opportunity for her people by popularizing education. Popular education is not intended to satisfy the self-seeking urges of individuals, but to provide all men with equal opportunities for self-development. Education in the West became universal long after the beginning of the industrial revolution. But the industrialization of China is just now beginning ; there is thus the chance for China to universalize education now, so that by the time it reaches full-scale industrialization it will also have achieved social equality.
3) Another basis for hope is that there is still time for Chinese scholars and scientists to pursue specialized knowledge and devote their research activities to special problems. One of the shortcomings of political individualism in the West lies in the fact that it tends to deprecate specialization, and to hold that any reasonably well-educated person can pretty well take care of himself. It ignores the extreme complexities of modern society and politics, and fails to see that even in a small district the problems of education, taxation, and government as well as those of industry, can be dealt with effectively only by those who have mastered a great deal of highly specialized knowledge. If China can begin now to develop appropriate degrees of specialization, her rewards in the future will assuredly be great.
These remarks about China are no more than a few random suggestions of my own. The problem, though, is one of extreme importance, and worthy of the most careful study. Although at the moment China is confronted with particular and exacerbating problems, these are temporary. China is certain to be faced with more lasting and more fundamental problems in the near future, and the two which are of the most far-reaching import are the inevitability of industrialization, and its concomitant problem of self-seeking individualism. The problem thus becomes one of conserving the positive aspects of individualism while at the same time avoiding its negative aspects, which are certain to introduce disorder into your society."
'Nationalism and internationalism'
'The authority of science'
'Intellectual freedom'
Barry Keenan : Dewey began the lectures 'Social and political philosophy' with an instrumental definition of theory, and of politics ¸than he discussed the characteristics of experimental politics. Political theories, like any theories, he noted, arose to account for and alleviate some difficulty that developed in the operation of established social habits and institutions. Thinking was a response to problems, and so was theoretical thinking. The specific conditions of the original habits and institutions, were primary, and the theories of how they operate derivative.
Thomas Berry : The lecture 'Social philosophy and political philosophy' must be considered of special significance. It made a deep impression upon Chen Duxiu, who had already become interested in Marxism. Dewey's presentation of the democratic idea 'delayed by a strong counter-influence' the movement of Chen toward the Marxist-Leninist position. The main idea of this lecture was that democracy in any true sense of the word must begin on the local level and rise from there through successively wider application to the higher realms of political authority. The influence of Dewey on Chen did not succeed in bringing his intellectual and political abilities into the service of liberal or social democracy of a European or American style, for in 1921 Chen joined with Li Dazhao to found the Communist Party, the dynamic center of a movement that would first be the opponent and later the conqueror of all other political forces and doctrines in China. As a distinct political party, the democratic movement envisaged by Dewey was never successful in China. As an ideal it has remained a constant influence there and has seriously affected the political life of the country.