Just Hierarchy Between Rulers and Citizens: Rule for the People, with the Trust of the People


Speaker:Dean and Professor Daniel A. Bell (贝淡宁), Shandong University School of Political Science and Public Administration

Moderator: Prof. Norman Ho, Peking University School of Transnational Law

Date & Time:Wednesday, October 20, 2021, 5:45 PM – 7:00 PM (China time)

Location:STL108

Language:English

BIO

Daniel A. Bell (贝淡宁)

Daniel A. Bell (贝淡宁) is dean at the school of political science and public administration at Shandong University in Qingdao. His books include Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the West (Princeton, 2020), co-authored with Wang Pei and The China Model: Political Meritocracy and the Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015).

ABSTRACT

This talk will lay out the theoretical case for justifying political hierarchies between rulers and citizens in large-scale political communities (such as China) that do not use periodic elections to select rulers. I will discuss which abilities and virtues matter for rulers and ask if it is possible to limit abuses of power in a political meritocracy.