The Elitist Theory and its Four Chinese Reverberations: A Discussion based on China's National Governance Theory

Abstract

The development of western elitism theory has experienced three stages: moral elitism theory, meritocracy theory and meritocracy theory. The four echoes of meritocracy, lottery democracy, governance theory and national capacity theory in China respectively respond to the basic question of elite theory as the form of elite characteristics, selection methods, governance models and ruling resources. Where do the elites come from? How do elites govern? On what does the elite run the country?” It can be divided typologically according to two dimensions: the attitude towards elitism and the dimension of power relations. These four kinds of Chinese echoes all have their own strengths and weaknesses, which shows the double-peak confrontation between democratic theory and elitism as the basic proposition of political science. This suggests that the governance of our country needs to constantly explore the delicate balance between liberal democracy and elite authority, effective governance and popular participation.