Author’s Response
Abstract
Political meritocracy is the idea that the political system should aim to select and promote public officials with superior ability and virtue. The ideal was developed in pre-Qin Chinese history by Confucianism and other schools of political thought. A similar ideal is put forward in Plato’s Republic but political meritocracy has been central the Chinese political thinking for about 2,500 years. It was institutionalized in imperial China by means of a complex bureaucratic system designed to select and promote superior public officials that lasted more than two millennia. The imperial system collapsed in 1912 but the meritocratic bureaucratic system has been reestablished in form (but not content) over the last four decades in China.
Fields of Study & Subjects
China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance
Chinese history and philosophy
Political Philosophy and Ethics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Review of Politics
- Volume
- 88
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 101–104
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN