Comparing Political Values in China and the West: What Can Be Learned and Why It Matters

Abstract

Along with China's economic and military rise, its leading political values will increasingly shape both China and the world at large. Hence, we need to understand, compare, and learn from leading values in China's political culture. This review discusses recent efforts to systematically compare three leading values in China's philosophical traditions—meritocracy, hierarchy, and harmony—with leading values from the political culture of Western societies.