China and the irrelevance of freedom

Abstract

Let me start by posing a simple question. Do concepts of freedom have any relevance when looking at the long history of Chinese cultures? By freedom I am thinking especially of the very odd notions of freedom that have survived at the western end of Eurasia from tribal societies to our own times and been spread from there to some other parts of the world. Odd because they are not found everywhere. These odd notions of freedom can be group freedoms, as when groups within a larger society are held to have the right to make some choices about their own lives without having to take into account the wishes and interests of the state and its rulers. Another odd notion of freedom can vest a freedom in the individual that may be held against the state, the larger society, and even the family or other smaller group to which the individual belongs. A related group of odd freedoms are rights to be involved in making decisions about one's society. Show more