Some scholars, notably Yan Xuetong and Daniel A. Bell, advocate the restoration of meritocratic Confucian institutions such as the censorate in China and elsewhere as part of a new Confucian political program. Others (e.g., Jana S. Rošker) emphasize that Confucianism is by no means a monolithic or static scope of traditional thought, but rather implies different currents that can be used quite arbitrarily and selectively by modern ideologies, which are marked by their function of legitimizing the state power. Considering the historical development of the concept of harmony we need to ask ourselves to what extent are the philosophical traditions based on historic assumptions, and to what extent are they merely a product of the (ideological and political) demands of the current period.