Abstract:
After having been sidelined and overwhelmed several times, the
gathering momentum of liberalism and social democracy in China today
may constitute the most profound change in Chinese intellectual development
since the mid-nineteenth century. However, it is a daunting task for
both liberalism and social democracy to win the minds of the majority of
Chinese intellectuals by breaking down the barriers of state socialism, nationalism,
and cynicism. It is not easy to determine the political persuasions
or ideological beliefs of many intellectuals in contemporary China:
Are they liberals, socialists, or nationalists? One can easily find devotees
of liberalism, socialism, or nationalism among intellectuals in modern and contemporary China; the problem lies in the heterogeneous nature of their
ideological beliefs and political persuasions. As a pattern, many of these
intellectuals are, or intend to be, liberals, socialists, and nationalists at the
same time, without fully understanding the tensions or contradictions between
these different ideologies. One consequence is repeated bewilderment
at many historical junctures, when such elite display political precariousness
and ideological bankruptcy. These intellectuals may subscribe to
liberal and democratic values, but in the end cannot resist the seduction of
state socialism and nationalism. The combination of these three political
beliefs has actually formed a hierarchy in the ideological structure of
progressive Chinese intellectuals in modern times. Nationalism came first,
followed by socialism and liberalism in order of relative importance. It is
impossible to find any influential political or intellectual leaders in modern
China who are not nationalist. The strong commitment of the elite to nationalism
has not only eventually led to the prevalence of state socialism
over any other brands of socialism, but has also set a clear limit on the
development of liberalism. There is now a real possibility that liberalism
will prevail over both nationalism and state socialism in China.
