Happy Lunar New Year from the USC US-China Institute!
Role Ethics: A Confucian Moral Vision for the 21st Century
UC Berkeley's Center for Chinese Studies presents a talk by Professor Henry Rosemont, Jr.
Where
Although over 160 nations have ratified the U.N. International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, the United States has not. In significant measure this is due to grounding the concept of human rights in a view of human beings as essentially free, autonomous individuals. In this way civil and political rights may be straightforwardly championed and legally defended, but so can a “blame the victim” view for explaining stark social and economic injustice despite its manifest falsity. Social, economic and cultural rights will have little place in a conceptual framework based on foundational individualism in a capitalist society. Grounding the concept of human beings in their interrelatedness, however, Confucians can easily champion both sets of rights, giving their role ethics – as distinguished from Western theories of deontological, consequentialist, or virtue ethics -- a claim on our attention today as the gap between the super-rich and the impoverished continues to widen both at home and abroad.
Featured Articles
We note the passing of many prominent individuals who played some role in U.S.-China affairs, whether in politics, economics or in helping people in one place understand the other.
Events
Ying Zhu looks at new developments for Chinese and global streaming services.
David Zweig examines China's talent recruitment efforts, particularly towards those scientists and engineers who left China for further study. U.S. universities, labs and companies have long brought in talent from China. Are such people still welcome?