300267 Modernity in China. Theory of society and the Eastern World (S) (WiSe 2018/2019)

The Chinese sociological and philosophical debate is discovering and promoting Niklas Luhmann’s reflection, and in particular his theory of society. The approach, that from many points of view presents surprising affinities with Chinese thought, on the one hand seems particularly appropriate to observe the society of that country and its current transformations. On the other hand, however, the approach of systems theory is based on the transition to functional differentiation in the modern era, while modernity in China - assuming that there was one - has very different characteristics.
With the support of guests from China, during the seminar we will discuss the possibility of applying the sociological theory of systems in that context.

Bibliography

Texts for discussion:
Fei Xiaotong, From the soil, the foundations of Chinese society. Edited by Gary G. Hamilton and Wang Zheng. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
Daniel A. Bell, The China model: political meritocracy and the limits of democracy. Princeton, Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2015.
Niklas Luhmann, Europäische Rationalität. In Beobachtungen der Moderne. Westdeutscher, Opladen, 1992, pp. 51-91.
- Weltgesellschaft (pp. 145-171 ) and Modernisierung (pp. 1082-1088). In Die Gesellschaft der Gesellschaft. Frankfurt a.M: Suhrkamp, 1997 (or the corresponding pages in the English translation Theory of Society).
- Komplexität und Demokratie. Zu Frieder Naschold: "Demokratie und Komplexität". in: Politische Vierteljahresschrift 10, 1969: pp. 314-325.
Rachel Botsman, Big data meets Big Brother as China moves to rate its citizens. Wired, 2017
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/chinese-government-social-credit-score-privacy-invasion
Jonathan Bach, Merit, Morality, and Market: The Chinese Social Credit Experiment. New York: Manuscript.

Background:
Max Weber, Die Wirtschaftsethik der Weltreligionen - Konfuzianismus und Taoismus: Schriften, 1915-1920. Heidelberg: Mohr Siebeck, 1989.