No (Logical) Place for Asian Values in East Asias Economic Development

Abstract

This paper tries to challenge the pro-Confucian hypotheses which explains that the Confucian ethic has contributed to the rise of capitalist East Asia. First of all, the concept of East Asia is too abstract and too vague to serve as a proper unit of analysis. Second, it is difficult to employ cultural tradition as an autonomous and independent variable for a meaningful analysis of economic development. Third, the alleged positive correlation between Confucianism and East Asia's economic success fails to make sense in terms of logical causality as well as empirical evidence. And finally, the debate over Asian values seems to be a geopolitical and ideological struggle rather than a purely academic polemic. Instead of the culturalist approach, this article demands to locate the possibly Confucian elements within the historical dynamic for the better explanation of East Asia's economic development.