Bureaucracy In East Asia

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According to philosophers in East Asia, proper order is analogous to politics. Politics is power - and in order to have power one must understand how to best use it as a benefit to society while not becoming selfish or corrupt. Following the logic of proper order, which is already prevalent in many East Asian countries and their governments, is the first step to an efficiency in the government and cooperation between society and the state. According to the Confucian philosophy proper order is a theory and a practice that work together to create a necessary framework for co-participation between government and local institutions to help promote social, political, and economic cooperation in all areas that work to benefit all involved (Lecture, …show more content…

Necessary levels for a properly running bureaucracy include balance, benevolent hierarchy, and a maximization of merit. Balance is needed for actions such as the bureaucracy enforcing taxation and collecting taxes. While the central government should remain effectively small, they do need to be sufficiently sized in order to remain effective. A benevolent hierarchy is necessary in order to help balance the costs and benefits of being ruled because a benevolent hierarchy is about serving and charity, therefore they should strive to be not too costly to maintain because then they may fall apart or lose the respect of the people, but cost efficient enough that if the people were to rebel agains government, the government would be strong enough to sustain. The balance of these two things is tough to balance, but in this case it is a moral exchange between the two entities having respect for the other. A maximization of merit may be the ultimate requirement for bureaucracy in order for them to have respect of the people. Maximizing merit refers to one acquiring power within the government based on actual achievements and the work and dedication of the individual rather than blood or money buying them the position. One way in which merit is maximized is through the civil service and the examinations the recruited must pass. This ensures there is no buying of offices and while there is competition amongst each other to do well on the test, one must still earn their own merit or job. The exams are challenging because one is tested on a variety of subjects including arithmetic, physics Confucian teachings, and philosophy, but this is to ensure that the people who run the empire are well qualified and dedicated to maintaining the integrity of the position and office. Another way proper order tries to maximize merit

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