Theorizing the Civil Condition: Oakeshott and Chinese Liberalism

Chor-Yung Cheung

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-04163-0_11

Theorizing the Civil Condition: Oakeshott and Chinese Liberalism

Chor-Yung Cheung^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 12 - Chapter in an edited book (Author) › peer-review

Abstract

The relationship between Michael Oakeshott and Chinese liberalism is a largely unexplored subject. The current understanding is that Oakeshott’s philosophical politics by and large only has critical value for Chinese liberalism because the latter is both “ideological” and “rationalistic”. While this chapter does not dispute this understanding, it argues that a close reading of Oakeshott’s philosophical works, particularly in the areas of the postulates of the civil condition, the ambiguous character of a modern state, and the conception of free agency, has a lot to offer to the Chinese liberals in enriching their theoretical development of liberalism in China. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism
Editors	Eric S. Kos
Publisher	Springer Nature
Chapter	11
Pages	233-258
Number of pages	26
Edition	1
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-032-04163-0
ISBN (Print)	978-3-032-04162-3, 978-3-032-04165-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-04163-0_11
Publication status	Published - 3 Jan 2026

Publication series

Name	Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism
Volume	Part F5546
ISSN (Print)	2662-6470
ISSN (Electronic)	2662-6489

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Theorizing the Civil Condition: Oakeshott and Chinese Liberalism. / Cheung, Chor-Yung.
Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism. ed. / Eric S. Kos. 1. ed. Springer Nature, 2026. p. 233-258 (Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism; Vol. Part F5546).

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 12 - Chapter in an edited book (Author) › peer-review

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Theorizing the Civil Condition: Oakeshott and Chinese Liberalism

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