Transcript presentation_confucius_1x

Article by H.George Frederickson
Presenters:
Binita Pradhan
S.M. Ishtiaque Shahriar
Source
 In 2002 H. George Frederickson published this article for an academic
journal called Administration and Society. The journal was established in
1969 and is currently published by SAGE Publications. You can find this
article in the January issue of the journal. online address :
http://aas.sagepub.com/content/33/6/610.abstract
The Author
 In the author’s personal website -http://www.people.ku.edu/~gfred/, he
describes himself as this –“I am a generalist in the field of public
administration with particular interests in public administration ethics ,
theories of public administration,
systems of multilevel governance, and American local government .”
Continued

Professor H. George Frederickson currently serves as the Edwin O.Stene
Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at the University of
Kansas. His recent publications include –
1. Up the Bureaucracy: A True and Faultless Guide to Organizational Success
and the Further Adventures of Knute and Thor
2. Public Administration with an Attitude
3. Ethics in Public Administration
4. The Adapted City
5. The Public Administration Theory Primer
Limitations of the article
 Does not explain ‘what is confucianism’ , or even who was Confucius for
the readers.
 Favoring confucianism to western thoughts in a biased way
 The author gives confucianism as a panacea
 Tries to attribute the moral and economic development of the East Asia to
Confucianism
 Only focuses on the morality of Confucius thoughts
Who was Confucius?
Confucius (Kong Qiu )
 Born in Shantung province, Lu
 His father died when Confucius was 3 years of age
 He was taught first by his mother, then by others
 He was a very eager student – a deep love of learning
 Thus, he received a high-quality education
 Served in various minor government posts
continued
 Married at age 19
 Mastered the “six arts” (ritual; music; marksmanship; horsemanship;
calligraphy; math)
 He began a brilliant teaching career when he was in his 30s
 In his late 40s and early 50s Confucius served in minor posts, finally as the
Minister of Justice in Lu, his native home
 His loyalty to the king caused him “political” problems at the court (he was
“framed” by unrighteous scholars “lesser” than he was)
continued
 He left at age 56 to find rulers who might be interested in his ideas
 His reputation as a teacher spread (as many as “10,000 disciples”)
 He exiled himself for about 12 years and during that time he was
accompanied by an expanding group of students.
 At the age of 67 he moved back to preserve his cherished ways of writing
and editing.
 Confucius died in the year 479 B.C. in Lu at age 73.
Moral Values
Five relationships:
 father-child
 ruler-subject
 husband-wife
 elder brother-younger brother
 friend-friend
continued
Imperial China was famous for its civil service examination system, which had
its beginnings in the Sui dynasty (581-618 CE) but was fully developed
during the Qing dynasty and remained so until its abolition in 1905.
The system continued to play a major role, not only in education and
government, but also in society itself, throughout Qing times.
The civil service examination system was squarely based upon the Confucian
classics.
The influence of the Chinese examination system spread to neighboring Asian
countries, such as Vietnam, Korea, Japan (though briefly)
Six Arts and Five Classics
Curriculum: Initially the examinees were tested on their proficiency in
the "Six Arts”
Scholastic arts: music, arithmetic, writing, and knowledge of the rituals
and ceremonies in both public and private life.
Militaristic: archery and horsemanship
The curriculum was then expanded to cover the "Five Studies": military
strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture and geography, and
the Confucian classics
Continued
Confucian classics:

Classic of Poetry- A collection of 305 poems

Book of Documents- A collection of documents and speeches alleged to have
been written by rulers and officials

Book of Rites- Describes ancient rites, social forms and court ceremonies.

I Ching(Book of Changes)-spiritual practice to provide guidance for moral
decision making

Spring and Autumn Annals- A historical record of the State of Lu, Confucius's
native state, 722–481 BC.
The Constant Virtues
Filial piety (Xiao) :It is a virtue of respect for one's father, elders, and
ancestors
Ren: Relationship between "two persons”
 extension of filial piety to all human beings
 each role in the hierarchy of social relations had clearly defined duties
 reciprocity or mutual responsibility
 Ren is exemplified by a normal adult's protective feelings for children.
Confucius defined ren in the following way: "wishing to be established
himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he
seeks also to enlarge others."
continued
 Li-good manners,politeness,ceremony,worship.
 Zhong : Doing ones best. This was the equivalent of filial piety on a
different plane, between ruler and minister. Loyalty is not a devotion
directed specifically toward one’s superior: rather can be defined as doing
one’s duties properly.
 Shu : When asked to give one word that can serve as the guiding principle
for one’s entire life, Confucius replied that it is “shu”, and further
elaborated:“ Do not impose upon others what you yourself do not desire. “
The Article At A Glance
In the article : ”Confucius and the Moral Basis of Bureaucracy” , the author
describes the need for a "moral basis of bureaucracy" in the West. He argues
that the moral justification for bureaucracy is stronger in Eastern thought
than in Western philosophy and practice.
In this article, Frederickson describes the several "central features" of
Confucianism. He then compares them to Western approaches to
bureaucracy; providing contemporary examples.
He describes Confucius as to the ethic of bureaucracy as Weber is to the
structure and behavior of bureaucracy. The article contains three sections.
continued
 Section 1 describes that, the countries of East Asia – China, Japan, Taiwan ,
Singapore and Korea have bureaucratic cultures which are particularly
influenced by the thought of Confucius.
 Section 2 tells the primary moral positions or central features of Confucian
ideology which are stated earlier and compare those with western ones.
 Section 3 deals with a consideration of the implications of the legacy of
Confucian bureaucratic morality for both eastern and western bureaucracy.
Section 1 : Are there Bureaucratic cultures?
 In modern times researchers like Ronald Ingle hart and Marita Carballo
(1997) finds conclusively that there are highly distinctive cultural patterns
and that in this patterns – South Korea, Japan and China form an interesting
cluster. In the interpretation of this concept they say that -“ China had a
relatively secular cultural system for two thousand years and bureaucratic
authority developed within the Confucian system long before it reached the
west. Thus China and the other Confucian influenced societies of East Asia
have possessed the Bureaucratic component of modern culture for a very
long time. “
Section 1 continued
 Ingle hart's (1988) interpretation about the rapid economic development of
the countries shaped by the Confucian and Buddhist traditions like
Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan is –
“ It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Confucian cultural
tradition is conducive to economic achievement today.”
Section 2:
 To what extent is Confucian culture uniquely bureaucratic?
 Do Confucian values constitute a moral justification for bureaucracy?
According to the author, in a Confucian state, the ruler and the people both
have reciprocal moral obligation to ensure peace, prosperity and justice.
Reciprocity is central to Confucianism. Central features of Confucianism
which form the moral justification for bureaucracy are described below:
Features
 These central features are:
(1) The rule of man versus the rule of law
(2) The characteristics of the good official
(3) The nature of moral conventions and practices to governing.
(4) The importance of education and merit.
(5) How to serve those in power.
(6) The nature and order of society and
(7) The definitions of virtue and morality.
The Rule of Law Versus The Rule of Man
 In Confucianism, it is argued that a society has lost its basic values , common
traditions and civilized conventions when it resorts to new laws and
amendments. For a society , compulsive lawmaking and constant judicial
interventions are a symptom of moral illness. It rather follows the rule of
gentleman (junzi) approach.
 “Lead the people with administrative injunctions and put them in their place
with penal law, and they will avoid punishments but will be without a sense of
shame. Lead them with excellence and put them in their place through roles and
ritual practices, and in addition to developing a sense of shame, they will order
themselves harmoniously.” (Analects II, 3)
Good Official
 In the rule of man , what sort of man it should be?
 Self-cultivation : In the Analects, two types of persons are opposed to one
another - not in terms of basic potential (Confucius says all human beings
are alike at birth), but in terms of developed potential. These are
the junzi (literally, "lord's son" or “gentleman”; and the xiaoren ("small
person"):
The gentleman understands what is moral. The small person understands
what is profitable. (4.16)
continued
 Confucius developed an entirely new concept of ruler and rule.
 The old concept of elite is substituted by the notion of an elite not based on
birth or wealth but purely determined by virtue, culture, talent.
 This is true for both the ruler and the ruler’s bureaucrats.
 All government or public acts are to be thought of as moral acts and a good
official is above all other things a moral actor.
The Nature of Moral Conventions and Their
Importance in Governing
In Confucian ethics order is found in form of moral convention. The literal
translation in English word is rites or rituals.
 Rituals (Li) :Rites, ceremonies, proper behavior, and good manner
 performed in good faith, with everyone keeping to his or her proper role
 universal harmony
 no need for physical sanctions, laws, or punishment
Issues of right and wrong penetrate all of bureaucracy , and the effective
official will, by education and experience, learn and practice right or moral
behavior.
The Importance of Education and Merit
 Confucius built an enduring link between education and political power . It
was open to all indifferently – rich and poor, noble and ordinary.
 Its purpose was primarily moral. Throughout China, Japan and Korea
education came to be the great engine of social mobility.
 The purpose of this education is not about having, it is about being, to
develop one’s humanity.
continued
 How to serve those in power: In case of the rulers being evil or corrupt,
courage is an essential moral attribute of the good official.
 In Confucianism – “ A good official follows the Way, rather than the ruler”
 The Nature of Order In Society: “let the lord be a lord ;the subject a subject;
the father a father; the son a son.”
 In the Confucian view, the sociopolitical order depends on appropriate
definitions and descriptions of each person’s identity, role, duties, privileges
and responsibilities and a good official has to understand and maintain
those.
The Definitions of Virtue and Morality
 The Confucian and western philosophy, there are similarities and
differences. Like the priority of love in both philosophy – first family, then
benevolence to all human being, then general regard to all living creatures.
 The main difference is in the relative importance in social interaction.
 In Confucian virtue, first is intelligence, second is righteousness. One is
intelligent if one knows that murder is wrong.
 One is righteous if one does not murder. Benevolence, the responsibility to
help the others is the next virtue.
Implication of Confucian bureaucratic morality
 Confucian most complete and robust moral justification for bureaucracy is
found not in western thought but in east Asian countries.
 Virtually the entire Confucian logic of education is for public service,
selection for public service.
 effective functioning in government work.
 effective service to those in power.
Continued
 effective service to the people pivots around the matters of morality.
 In Confucian ideal type, good officials, rather than laws are primary
instruments of governance.
 Confucian thought predate the theory and practice of democratic self-
government.
 For two millennium, Confucian thought and enlightened bureaucracy did
much to improve and make tolerable nondemocratic practices in East
Comparison of Western and Eastern thoughts
continued
The power of Confucian ideas eroded and was used to elevate one class over
another to maintain power by lineage and to general subjugate the people.
Both traditional western philosophy and Confucian thought predate the theory and
practice of democracy self – government.
In East Asia today, the biggest issues are first, democratic self-government; second,
economic development: and third, the elimination of corruption in government and
business.
continued
 The core Confucian ideas have already been modified to blend the rule of
law with the rule of man.
 The morality of many public officials is low, and this includes some
democratically elected leaders as well as some civil servants.
 The moral arguments of the confucianist can complement a bureaucratic
morality primarily tied to constitution and laws.
Nepalese Bureaucracy
 Nepalese civil services sector has increasingly become dysfunctional,
fragmented, poorly organized, and incapable of performing at a level
acceptable to the public.
 In recent years, Nepalese civil service has become too much politicized
which has contributed to the promotion of unethical practices in civil
service. As a result, moral & ethical values in civil services are in the state
of deterioration, causing services delivery on suffer.
continued
 Genuine concerns of law-biding citizens are consistently ignored, rules and
regulations are constantly by-passed, ethics and morality have become a
thing of past.
 Civil servants and higher government officers were unable to create an
impression among the public that they are there to serve.
 A rapid deterioration in their ethics has made it difficult to generate in them
the feeling of serving the public interest, demonstrating personal integrity,
promoting ethical work environment, and striving for professional
excellence.
Influences of Confucianism on Nepalese Culture
 1. Hierarchy
 2. Value of family and interest
 3. Education and the merit
 4. Duty of every son to serve his parents
 5. Preference to old ages, woman and disabled.
In The Context of Bangladesh
 Lack of ethics, more of corruption
 We follow constitution and law which is western philosophy. In practice, we
are following neither rule of law or rule by man.
 Absence of practice of all the virtues mentioned by
Confucius. In case of government officials politeness ( Li), doing duties
properly ( Zhong) and benevolence for others (shu) are hard to find.
In case of Political leadership , setting example of morality is not found.
Our opinion
 We think that Frederickson has gone too far in connecting bureaucracy ,
ethics and Confucius.
 We agree to the point that there should be ethical base and practice in
society and bureaucracy which often comes from different religions.
 Confucianism is often criticized as a tool for autocratic Chinese ruler and it
doesn’t promote democracy.
 We don’t suggest to follow confucianism but to follow the ethics and self
cultivation it speaks of.
Learning points
 Morality needed in bureaucracy for bureaucrats.
 Ethics and self cultivation needed to improve the present condition of public
agencies and organizations in the countries of East Asia.
 If ruler is himself upright the work will go well without giving order.
 Discipline needed among bureaucrats for the development , self-
government and decrement of corruption.