ABSTRACT
The Confucian notion of harmony, which several chapters in this volume discuss in detail, is to some extent at odds with the Western image of politics. 1 In a Confucian culture, political mobilization and institutions serve to promote the common good, which reflects some degree of social harmony. Harmony in this culture also serves as a norm or an ideal towards which society should strive. In Western culture however there is certainly a notion about ‘the public interest’ too, but there is also a very strong notion that politics departs from – or is a manifestation of – social conflict and that it is one of the key tasks of the political system to accommodate or resolve such conflict. This requires that while there may be disagreement among different social constituencies about what should be the role and objectives of politics, such disagreement must coexist with a high degree of consensus about the rules of the political games and the role of political institutions.
