Between Virtue and Structure: Civic Duty and Democratic Viability in Rousseau and Tan

Democracies are increasingly relying on bureaucratic, procedural mechanisms, which isolate individuals in society. This creates a distance between citizens and their shared political life. The erosion of communal responsibility and moral connection poses a risk to democratic legitimacy as people feel less obligated to contribute to their immediate and political surroundings. Restoring this interpersonal connection and the influence of civic obligation is crucial. This thesis is a comparative investigation of the role of civic duty in sustaining democracy, comparing Rousseau and Tan as Western and Eastern representatives of this idea. The comparative analysis of Rousseau and Tan’s Confucian democracy using five democratic criteria: direct voting/accountability, checks on power, freedom of expression, equality before the law, anti-corruption guardrails. Both theories emphasize civic virtue and moral education. They diverge in views on the self and treat institutions differently,...Show moreDemocracies are increasingly relying on bureaucratic, procedural mechanisms, which isolate individuals in society. This creates a distance between citizens and their shared political life. The erosion of communal responsibility and moral connection poses a risk to democratic legitimacy as people feel less obligated to contribute to their immediate and political surroundings. Restoring this interpersonal connection and the influence of civic obligation is crucial. This thesis is a comparative investigation of the role of civic duty in sustaining democracy, comparing Rousseau and Tan as Western and Eastern representatives of this idea. The comparative analysis of Rousseau and Tan’s Confucian democracy using five democratic criteria: direct voting/accountability, checks on power, freedom of expression, equality before the law, anti-corruption guardrails. Both theories emphasize civic virtue and moral education. They diverge in views on the self and treat institutions differently, ultimately forming different models of democratic sustainability. Rousseau’s model focusses on the general will of citizens as the sovereign of the state. Tan sees communal harmony and the cultivation of the self in relation to others as the foundation of democracy. In the final chapter, the two models are compared thematically across four areas: conception of the self, civic duty, education, and the role of institutions. This chapter reveals that while both models prioritize ethical responsibility, Rousseau’s model is unified but rigid, and Tan’s model is relational and adaptive but risks passivity. Civic duty alone proves insufficient for democratic stability and requires institutional reinforcement. Tan’s integration of moral cultivation with institutional reform offers a viable path under liberal-democratic expectations, while also highlighting liberalism’s vulnerability to ethical hollowing.Show less

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Between Virtue and Structure: Civic Duty and Democratic Viability in Rousseau and Tan