Making the political
Subtitle: founding and action in the political theory of Zhang Shizhao
By: Leigh K. Jenco.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780521760607
Subjects: Zhang, Shizhao, -- 1881-1973 -- Political and social views; Political participation; Social change
Description: "Democratic political theory often sees collective action as the basis for noncoercive social change, assuming that its terms and practices are always self-evident and accessible. But what if we find ourselves in situations where collective action is not immediately available, or even widely intelligible? This book examines one of the most intellectually substantive and influential Chinese thinkers of the early twentieth century, Zhang Shizhao (1881- 1973), who insisted that it is individuals who must "make the political" before social movements or self-aware political communities have materialized. Zhang draws from British liberalism, democratic theory, and late imperial Confucianism to formulate new roles for effective individual action on personal, social, and institutional registers. In the process, he offers a vision of community that turns not on spontaneous consent or convergence on a shared goal, but on ongoing acts of exemplariness that inaugurate new, unpredictable contexts for effective personal action"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Part I. Introduction: 1. Making the political; 2. Zhang Shizhao and his world; Part II. Founding: 3. The founding paradox; 4. Rule by man and rule by law; 5. Public, private, and the political; Part III. Action: 6. Self-awareness; 7. The self-use of talent; 8. Accommodation; Conclusion: a return to beginnings.