Comments On "Confucius Makes A Comeback; Ideology In China"

At the time when Mao was the leader of China, Confucianism was often ostracized and derided due to the movements in the Cultural Revolution which was supposed to modernize China. The author follows the arguments of Professors and scholars to form a debate on the aspects of Confucianism that could either compliment, or contrast against the Communist government of China. The reason for the debate is to see whether Confucianism would work in tie with modern Communism. There are positions that support Confucianism because it promotes respect for authority, and living in balance and order. Other positions deny Confucianism because of suspicion (of it being influenced by Buddhism) and because Confucianism does not provide a model of political transition for the government to follow.

Because the author does not provide an editorial perspective of the arguments provided in this article, the reader is being involved in a human interest story. The examples that the author uses to make the point in support of the Confucian cause involve Professor Kang Xiaoguang, who recognized the importance of Confucian ideas to implement tolerance to the people of China, therefore keeping the Communist party intact and unarguable. Stephen Angle, a scholar at Peking University philosophy professor at Wesleyan University in America, points to major problems in urban-rural relations to show that a Confucian policy would not be able to resolve such domestic problems. Making use of sophisticated and professional individuals the author depends on the credibility of scholarly resources, which may imply that he/she is a student.

In the beginning of the article, the author uses examples in support of Confucianism with its potential abilities to fix social tension between classes and corruption. Yet at the end of the article, the author finishes with a counter-argument on Confucianism and politics, offering the conclusion that it can change the mindsets of the people in