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© 2018 Minhyuk Hwang ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE BETRAYAL OF THE EAST ASIAN ENLIGHTENMENT: THE RISE AND FALL OF FUKUZAWA YUKICHI’S BOURGEOIS LIBERALISM By MINHYUK HWANG A dissertation submitted to the School of Graduate Studies Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Political Science Written under the direction of Stephen Eric Bronner And approved by ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION The Betrayal of the East Asian Enlightenment: The Rise and Fall of Fukuzawa Yukichi’s Bourgeois Liberalism By MINHYUK HWANG Dissertation Director: Dr. Stephen Eric Bronner This study explores the intellectual tradition Fukuzawa Yukichi, a renowned Japanese political theorist of the nineteenth century, initiated. Fukuzawa was not only the proponent of liberalism whose Western ideas spread to East Asia, but also the most representative liberal of his time. His life and thought represented the general history of East Asian liberalism—its rise, frustration, and betrayal. Many scholars acknowledge Fukuzawa’s contribution in spreading liberalism and enlightenment in his early life and awakening the dormant masses in Asia to face the modern world. Fukuzawa, however, later betrayed transnational solidarity in Asia and encouraged imperialism in Japan, which naturally drew heavy criticism. Understandably, postmodernists regard Fukuzawa’s betrayal as a fundamental failure of Western modernity and, further, the problem inherent in the idea of enlightenment and “progress” as such. This study is an attempt to defend Fukuzawa’s project of East Asian enlightenment against the postmodern critique and find the universal significance of the tradition—not just in the Asian context. The impulse of imperialist expansion and totalitarianism came from the frustration of enlightenment rather than its continuation and extension. As this study will show, the frustration of the Enlightenment and liberalism was due to the liberals’ failure to maintain their own commitment to progress and universal rights. ii Acknowledgements It would have been impossible to finish this work without the generous support I continuously received from friends and family, who never stopped encouraging me whenever I felt weary and lost. I would like to express my wholehearted gratitude to my advisor and dissertation director, Stephen Eric Bronner, for his unending support and inspirational critiques and advice on everything I have done at Rutgers University. I am also greatly indebted to Andrew Murphy, who not only carefully read my dissertation with detailed comments but also gave me an extraordinary amount of help and experience in teaching while I was working as a teaching assistant for his courses. Dennis Bathory, who introduced the world of political theory to me, also helped me expand my perspective beyond the narrow focus on modern political theories. I also truly appreciate Myung-Lim Park’s participation on the committee and his continuous support since I was in the master’s program of Yonsei University, my alma mater. It is also necessary to mention names of my precious friends whose presence was the crucial support for my academic journey. More than anyone else, I will never forget Edwin Daniel Jacob, who has been always there for me whenever I have been in need of both emotional and intellectual help. Also, Michael and Sarah Sutton gave me a tremendous degree of emotional support when I was going through a difficult time. Saheum Hong, Ian Ihyon Jo, Do-Hyun Kim, and many other great friends of mine who are living in South Korea also have encouraged my work a great deal despite the Pacific Ocean that separates us. I dedicate this work to my parents and my dear brother, Ji-Hyuk Hwang, whose unending love I would never be able to repay in my entire life. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract of the Dissertation…………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………….iii Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter 1: Social Background……………………………………………………………….12 Fukuzawa Yukichi and the Transformation of Japan Chapter 2: Learning to Reason………………………………………………………………42 An Encouragement of Learning (Gakumon no susume) Chapter 3: Progress for National Autonomy………………………………………………..80 An Outline of a Theory of Civilization (Bunmeiron no gairyaku) Chapter 4: Existential Turn…………………………………………………………………124 Seeking National Recognition Chapter 5: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………164 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………..186 iv 1 Introduction This study explores the intellectual tradition Fukuzawa Yukichi, 1 a renowned Japanese political theorist of the nineteenth century, initiated. Despite his distinguished brand of liberalism and enlightenment tradition he adapted, there has been little research into his life and theories. My primary aim in this study is, therefore, addressing the significance of comparative political theory by introducing this fascinating theorist of the enlightenment in Asia. The main purpose of comparative political theory has changed little since Fred Dallmayr persuasively summarized its goal: Western political theory should end its “monologue” approach and start engaging in cross-cultural “dialogue” to find “truly universal” ideas.2 However, compared to the traditional focus on the ancient tradition of the East, very little attention has been paid to the modern tradition that emerged from the experiences of Asian intellectuals who struggled between Confucian tradition and modernity. These intellectuals, who constituted what I call “East Asian enlightenment,” had to confront imperialism and also Western modernity, which encouraged them to actively engage in the theory and practice of two fundamentally different traditions of political theory.3 Further, the enlightenment tradition that emerged in Japan, which shook world history by quickly modernizing the country into the only world power in Asia, remains somewhat 1 Every East Asian name mentioned in this study will be written in the original order: the family name first, which is followed by the given name. Fukuzawa is thus his family name. 2 See Fred Dallmayr, “Beyond Monologue: For a Comparative Political Theory,” Perspectives on Politics, no. 2 (June 2004): 249-257. 3 To name just a few of these neglected intellectuals in the Chinese enlightenment: Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao seem to be the ones most ignored by Western political theorists. The former tried to reform Confucianism to fit with universal history, which made the latter—who was also Kang’s student—call him the Martin Luther of Confucianism. Aside from specialists in Chinese history, however, very few Western political theorists have been exposed to them. As the most important work of Kang, see K’ang Yu-wei and Laurence G. Thompson, Ta T’ung Shu: The One-World Philosophy of K’ang Yu-wei (New York: Routledge, 1958). About Liang, see Joseph R. Levenson, Liang Ch’i Ch’ao and the Mind of Modern China (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967). 2 under-researched. These intellectuals of the East Asian enlightenment were genuinely the first to seriously engage in “cross-cultural dialogues,” with, perhaps, far more serious and urgent political concerns than any political theorist of our time. In order to truly engage in cross-cultural universality, then, comparative political theory should rehabilitate the great modern theorists in Asia from obscurity. This study begins the task by introducing the most extraordinary political theorist who initiated the East Asian enlightenment, from a small island in the East: Fukuzawa Yukichi. Fukuzawa is generally respected in Japan as a pioneer of liberalism and enlightenment. His face is still drawn on the ten-thousand-yen bill, which makes him, so to speak, the Ben Franklin of Japan. Outside of Japan, however, his legacy is often considered controversial and is sometimes even hated. He was not only the proponent of liberalism whose Western ideas spread to East Asia, but also the most representative liberal of his time, for better or worse. His life and thought represented the general history of East Asian liberalism—its rise, frustration, and betrayal. Most scholars acknowledge Fukuzawa’s contribution in spreading liberalism and enlightenment in his early life and awakening the dormant masses in Asia to face the modern world. Fukuzawa, however, later betrayed transnational solidarity in Asia and encouraged imperialism in Japan, which naturally drew heavy criticism, particularly in Korea and China. Understandably, postmodernists regard Fukuzawa’s betrayal as a fundamental failure of Western modernity and, further, the problem inherent in the idea of enlightenment and “progress” as such. Confucianists and nationalists in Korea and China also frequently link the “failure” of (Western) modernity with Fukuzawa. For them, Fukuzawa is no more than a betrayer of the harmonious and orderly tradition of East Asia in favor of Western philosophy, which they believed would fundamentally 3 encourage aggressive and expansionist politics.4 This study is an attempt to defend Fukuzawa’s project of East Asian enlightenment against the postmodern critique introduced above and find the universal significance of the tradition—not just in the Asian context. Of course, even within the non-Western context, Fukuzawa’s enlightenment project is