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

Uses the work of Zhang Shizhao, a famous Chinese thinker, to challenge democratic views about the origins of social change.

Leigh K. Jenco (Author)

9780521760607, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 June 2010

296 pages
23.4 x 15.9 x 1.9 cm, 0.6 kg

'This is an original and important piece of work that addresses a range of debates in political theory today relating to political agency, democratization, and the construction of political community. Leigh K. Jenco brings distinctive perspective to these questions and fruitfully models the practice of comparative political theory. In both its substance and its methods, the book breaks new ground.' Sharon R. Krause, Brown University, Rhode Island

Democratic political theory often sees collective action as the basis for non-coercive 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.

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.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Politics & government [JP], History of ideas [JFCX], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Non-Western philosophy [HPD]