Institutional Structures and Idealism of Character

Joseph Chan proposes democratic institutions as a bridge between the Confucian ideal of care and mutual trust between ruler and ruled on the one hand and our present flawed reality on the other. However, the reality of our democratic institutions is itself deeply flawed. I propose friendly amendments to Chan’s proposal to focus on the moral education of citizens. Such a focus is compatible with working with those institutions and their accompanying rituals that still hold promise for getting us closer to our ideals.