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Asian Power And Politics: The Cultural Dimensions of Authority
In a major new book, Lucian W. Pye reconceptualizes Asian political development as a product of cultural attitudes about power and authority. He contrasts the great traditions of Confucian East Asia with the Southeast Asian cultures and the South Asian traditions of Hinduism and Islam, and explores the national differences within these larger civilizations.
Breaking with modern political theory, Pye believes that power differs profoundly from one culture to another. In Asia the masses of the people are group-oriented and respectful of authority, while their leaders are more concerned with dignity and upholding collective pride than with problem-solving. As culture decides the course of political development, Pye shows how Asian societies, confronted with the task of setting up modern nation-states, respond by fashioning paternalistic forms of power that satisfy their deep psychological craving for security. This new paternalism may appear essentially authoritarian to Western eyes, but Pye maintains that it is a valid response to the people’s needs and will ensure community solidarity and strong group loyalties. He predicts that we are certain to see emerging from Asia’s accelerating transformation some new version of modern society that may avoid many of the forms of tension common to Western civilization but may also produce a whole new set of problems.
This book revitalizes Asian political studies on a plane that comprehends the large differences between Asia and the West and at the same time is sensitive to the subtle variations among the many Asian cultures. Its comparative perspective will provide indispensable insights to anyone who wishes to think more deeply about the modern Asian states.
Breaking with modern political theory, Pye believes that power differs profoundly from one culture to another. In Asia the masses of the people are group-oriented and respectful of authority, while their leaders are more concerned with dignity and upholding collective pride than with problem-solving. As culture decides the course of political development, Pye shows how Asian societies, confronted with the task of setting up modern nation-states, respond by fashioning paternalistic forms of power that satisfy their deep psychological craving for security. This new paternalism may appear essentially authoritarian to Western eyes, but Pye maintains that it is a valid response to the people’s needs and will ensure community solidarity and strong group loyalties. He predicts that we are certain to see emerging from Asia’s accelerating transformation some new version of modern society that may avoid many of the forms of tension common to Western civilization but may also produce a whole new set of problems.
This book revitalizes Asian political studies on a plane that comprehends the large differences between Asia and the West and at the same time is sensitive to the subtle variations among the many Asian cultures. Its comparative perspective will provide indispensable insights to anyone who wishes to think more deeply about the modern Asian states.
430 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1985
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About the author
Lucian W. Pye
48 books17 followersLucian Wilmot Pye (Chinese: 白魯恂) was an American political scientist, sinologist and comparative politics expert.
Pye focused on the characteristics of specific cultures in forming theories of political development of modernization of Third World nations, rather than seeking universal and overarching theories like most political scientists. As a result, he became regarded as one of the foremost contemporary practitioners and proponents of the concept of political culture and political psychology. Pye was a teacher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 35 years and served on several Asia-related research and policy organizations. He wrote or edited books and served as advisor to Democratic presidential candidates, including John F. Kennedy. Pye died of pneumonia at age 86.
Pye focused on the characteristics of specific cultures in forming theories of political development of modernization of Third World nations, rather than seeking universal and overarching theories like most political scientists. As a result, he became regarded as one of the foremost contemporary practitioners and proponents of the concept of political culture and political psychology. Pye was a teacher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 35 years and served on several Asia-related research and policy organizations. He wrote or edited books and served as advisor to Democratic presidential candidates, including John F. Kennedy. Pye died of pneumonia at age 86.
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August 17, 2022
লুসিয়ানের তত্ত্বগুলায় নিতান্তই আউট-ডেটেড হবে —এমন ধারণা নিয়ে এগোচ্ছিলাম। আনন্দের সাথে লক্ষ্য করলাম, ভুল প্রমাণিত হয়েছি পরিপূর্ণভাবে। এই বইতে চীনা, জাপানি এবং উপমহাদেশীয় রাজনৈতিক কালচার এতো পরিষ্কার ভাষায় আলাপ করা হয়েছে যে, আপনি ইতিহাস, বর্তমান এবং ভবিষ্যতের প্রেডিকশন গেঁথে ফেলতে পারবেন এক সুতায়, প্রথম চেষ্টাতেই। বিশ্লেষণগুলো চমৎকার।
হ্যাঁ, স্বীকার করি যে গত ৪০ বছরের সুবিশাল পরিবর্তনগুলোর অনেকগুলোই লুসিয়ানের ফ্রেমের বাইরে থেকে এসছে, এটা সত্য। কিন্তু কেন এসেছে ফ্রেমের বাইরে থেকে, এটা বুঝতে হলে আপনারে ফ্রেমের ভেতরটা কেম্নে কাজ করে বা করতো, তা বুঝতে হবে; এবং এই কারণে বইটা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ।
কিছু তথ্যপ্রমাদ এবং অযথা বাচলামি থাকায় রেটিং একটু কমিয়ে দিলাম।
হ্যাঁ, স্বীকার করি যে গত ৪০ বছরের সুবিশাল পরিবর্তনগুলোর অনেকগুলোই লুসিয়ানের ফ্রেমের বাইরে থেকে এসছে, এটা সত্য। কিন্তু কেন এসেছে ফ্রেমের বাইরে থেকে, এটা বুঝতে হলে আপনারে ফ্রেমের ভেতরটা কেম্নে কাজ করে বা করতো, তা বুঝতে হবে; এবং এই কারণে বইটা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ।
কিছু তথ্যপ্রমাদ এবং অযথা বাচলামি থাকায় রেটিং একটু কমিয়ে দিলাম।
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