Abstract:

The post - Confucian doctrine of capitalism, quite popular several years ago, tried to explain the increase of East Asian economy by the Confucian cultural tradition. It claimed to have extended Weber' s proposition about the relationship between Protestant ethics and development of capitalism and modified Weber' s idea that Confucian ethics blocked economic developments. This paper analyses the argumentative logic of "industrious and thrifty ethics"——a sub-view of the Confucian doctrine of capitalism which asserted that the traditional Confucian industrious ethics promoted the development of East Asian economy after World War Ⅱ. Unable to exceed Weber' s theory, this post-Confucian doctrine fails to provide an effective explanation of the development of East Asian economy.

Key words: Confucian ethics, Max Weber, post-Confucian doctrine of capitalism, East Asian economy