Making the Political : Founding and Action in the Political Theory of Zhang Shizhao

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-- 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. Leigh K. Jenco. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "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"-- Provided by publisher Zhang Shizhao was amongst the most intellectually original and influential Chinese thinkers of the early twentieth century. This book analyzes his work to challenge typical democratic views about the origins of social change. Zhang draws from Western political theory and late-Imperial Confucianism to consider possibilities for individualized political action.