The Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen traces the origins of Indian democratic dialogue to the third-century BC Buddhist Emperor Ashoka. He also contrasts the religious tolerance preached and practiced by the Muslim Emperor Akbar in the 1590’s with the Inquisition, which was hounding heretics in Europe at around the same time.
“天命”等儒家概念比欧洲的“神授君权”合理得多。诺贝尔经济学奖获得者阿玛蒂亚·森（Amartya Sen）认为印度民主对话的起源可以追溯到公元前三世纪的阿育王。他还把16世纪90年代莫卧儿帝国皇帝阿克巴所宣扬和实践的宗教宽容与同一时期对异教徒赶尽杀绝的欧洲宗教法庭作对比。