4.1 Philosophical background : Taoism-an Oriental liberalism
It has been generally accepted that the critical factor behind Asia’s papid growth was the influence of so-called “Asian Values”. Many commentators have argued that the emphasis on strong government leadership, industrious work ethic, and close government-business partnerships facilitated rapid economic development in East Asia. The public cooperation with government policies was instrumental in the infant stages of development for the orderly mobilization of scarce resources. Asian Values ane understood as based on Confucianism ; which stresses the fulfillment of human morality through learning and training. It emphasized that elite groups, who are supposed to have moral superiority, should lead the morally lacking general public using principles and they have chosen themselves. Adherents to Asian Values insist that the government and the elite group of officials should manage the economy. Some political leaders in East Asian countries countries have strongly supported the maintenance of Asian Values. Their argument is that the government and its officials have been capable of generating rapid economic growth and therefore that future prosperity should depend on the government. However, the political leaders to make references to Confucian Asian Values mainly to justify their almost authoritarian political systems. But at the onset of the crisis in 1997, these same Asian Values were blamed for causing the crisis. The crisis. The crisis of 1997 revealed the defects of the Asian Values which generated a legacy of crony capitalism, such as informal and non-transparent business practices, favoritism, and insider trading.