Meritocratic Democracy: A Cross-Cultural Political Theory

• In Event: Reimagining Democracy through Comparative Democratic Theory

Abstract

Political leaders remain under-examined in mainstream contemporary political theory. However, the political parties' crisis and new technological innovations in the media have led political leaders to consolidate unprecedented power in contemporary democratic societies. Most contemporary democracies resemble the so-called ‘leader democracy’ model, where political leaders play a central role in politics. The turn in democratic politics towards leader-centrism raises new normative questions. Granted that political leaders have become a central political agency in democratic societies, how can they contribute to democratic goals?
The idea of ‘meritocratic democracy’ brings together insights from parallel debates in Western and Confucian political theories to offer a new perspective on the function of political leaders in contemporary societies. As a Confucian-inspired approach to political leadership, meritocratic democracy points to some of the preconditions that politicians of all political stripes must meet before occupying leadership positions within a democratic institutional framework. It argues that the Confucian ideas of virtue politics (dezhi, 德治) and benevolence (ren,仁) can inspire new institutional proposals to ensure that political leaders work for democracy (not against it). If ethical screenings were applied to the intra-party selection of future political leaders, they could enhance the moral quality of democratically elected political leaders. Intra-party ethical screenings do not oppose mechanisms of intra-party democracy but compensate for some of the shortcomings. They also present a compelling means for Confucian democrats to demonstrate that democracy provides the optimal sociopolitical framework for realising the Confucian ideal of virtuous governance under the circumstances of modern politics.

Author

• Elena Ziliotti, Delft University of Technology