Liberalism And The Moral Crisis Of The Chinese Mind

With the deepening of moral crisis in contemporary China, a growing number of critics argue that Chinese liberalism is to blame for this crisis. As critics see it. economic liberalism endangers social equality justice while political liberalism gives birth to relativism and nihilism. What brings about these criticisms? And how do Chinese liberal intellectuals react to them? In order to solve these problems, this article tries to conduct a critical study of the debates on liberal ethics in contemporary China. Firstly. I will summarize critiques of Chinese liberalism; secondly, I will summarize Chinese liberal intellectuals’ reaction to and evaluation of these critiques. Thirdly. I will focus on four approaches to solving moral crisis proposed by Chinese liberal intellectuals; and lastly,I will compare and contrast these approaches.