Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The general paradigm view in Western philosophy is that democracy is the most legitimate form of government, but this book contends that there is a more legitimate system in the West by exploring the matter from the perspective of East Asian philosophy. It introduces a new Confucian hybrid system for the legislative branch built for Western societies called prometheocracy that fuses meritocracy with democracy. For this hybrid, all legislators must be democratically elected via one person, one vote, but in order to run for office, candidates must pass certain merit requirements, like having a criminal background check, having prior work experience relevant to politics, and meeting education requirements. Just as any other professional job has merit requirements to get the position, such as being a professor, doctor, engineer, or lawyer, the most important professional jobs in the country should have them too. By relying on philosophical reasoning and empirical studies from the social sciences, this book overturns the paradigm of democracy in the West by concluding that prometheocracy is more morally legitimate than democracy. Furthermore, it demonstrates how prometheocracy is more legitimate in the West than other major competitors, like other Confucian hybrid theories and epistocracy. Overall, it concludes that based on Western political values, prometheocracy is the most legitimate form of government for legislature in the West.</jats:p>