Another Cosmopolitanism: A Critical Reconstruction of the Neo-Confucian Conception of Tianxiaweigong (天下爲公) in the Age of Global Risks

Abstract

In this paper we would like to present the profile of 'another' cosmopolitanism through critical reconstruction of one of the core elements in Chinese political imaginary, the conception of Tianxiaweigong (TETS'il·), which means literally: under the Heaven belongs to the public. The first meaning of 'another cosmopolitanism' lies in the fact that it starts not from the main western tradition of cosmopolitanism, but from the tradition of Confucian political thoughts. However, it has a second, but more important meaning that is concerned with two deficits which the cosmopolitan publicness in the age of global risks should cope with; the deficit and what we would like to call 'ecological deficits'. The critical cosmopolitan project in the age of global risks needs to be reflective in dual senses to cope with both two deficits. The second meaning of 'another cosmopolitanism' lies in this critical cosmopolitan project.So our method of critical reconstruction is for putting together these two meanings to create a critical Confucian cosmopolitanism in a hermeneutic circle. On the one hand, we will reconstruct the Confucian cosmopolitanism from the viewpoint of the critical cosmopolitanism, and one the other hand we will explore the potentials of Confucian cosmopolitanism for providing the model of reflective publicness in its dual senses which is necessary for critical cosmopolitanism.We would like to proceed in the following way. First, we will present basic features of the cosmopolitanism implied in Tianxiaweigong and explain the reason why the reflective publicness in its dual senses is necessary for critical cosmopolitanism. Second, the grammar of Confucian cosmopolitan publicness contained in Neo-Confucian conception of Tianxiaweigong will be reconstructed. Third, we will discuss the three paths of reconstructing the Heavenly Principle in the name of the dialectic of Confucian enlightenment, and, based on this reconstruction, will present the profile of the ecodemocratic publicness as the critically reconstructed Neo-Confucian cosmopolitan order. Lastly, we will explain its reflective structure in its dual sense and explore its implication for our age of global risks.Keywords: Tianxiaweigong (...), Critical Confucian Cosmopolitanism, Grammar of the Neo-Confucian Cosmopolitan Publicness, Dialectic of Confucian Enlightenment, Ecological Deficit, Reflective Publicness in Its Dual Senses.(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)I. IntroductionAs a result of globalization we are now witnessing the rapid increase both of global interdependence and global risks. Global financial crisis, terrorism, paradox of the humanitarian-military intervention, and global ecological risks including climate change and nuclear accidents show us clearly that we are living in the age of global risks (Beck 2009). So the demand of a global publicness (T^'l'i) which is expected to be able to coordinate these global interactions and cope with the global risks comes up on the agenda not only of academic, but also of global political discussions. Meanwhile, however, it also has become clear that neither the old international law regime nor the global American hegemonic regime could satisfy this demand. Thus explode various cosmopolitan discourses in various areas to give an alternative answer to this question of new global order (Archibugi 2008, Beck 2006, Delanty 2012, Habermas 2014, Held 2010).This paper also belongs to such discourses. In the following, however, we would like to present the profile of another' cosmopolitanism through critical reconstruction of one of the core elements in Chinese political imaginary, the conception of Tianxiaweigong ( Jf Ι' βiτ). which means literally: All under the Heaven belongs to the public. As is well known, Tianxiaweigong has never ceased to be the core Chinese political imaginary through China's long history. It was not only the regulative idea of traditional Confucian politics, but also was the leading political idea of Sun Wen (1866-1925), the leader of the Xinhai Revolution (1911), the first democratic revolution in China that destroyed the last Confucian empire. …