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For most of the May Fourth iconoclasts, the question was not traditionalist Confucianism versus reform, but how to reform Confucianism. Was it best to build up a strong nation first with nationalist sentiments, as suggested by Liang Chi-chao, or to bring education to the Chinese masses and then build an enlightened civil society with a strong respect for the rights of the individual? For some, such as Hu Shih, and Chen Duxiu, individualism, self enlightenment, critical reasoning and civil rights were the elements of liberalism, an ideology in which China should follow in her search or modernity. Liberalism in this context, according the Hu, is not the 'classical liberalism' of the 17th and 18th centuries, in which the state should act as passive policemen, and otherwise not interfere in the affairs of the people. Hu's liberalism is where government should give its citizens the right to an education and thus insure that each citizen is0 a individual, capable of using critical thinking to excise political power and to influence the policy making process . In a other word, Hu favors some form of democracy. For Hu, democracy is not only a political system, but a new way of living for the Chinese public. Hu's focus was not on national salvation. He thought that the biggest problem faced by China in the 1920s was the lack the awareness of the rights of the individual. The individual is subjective only to himself. A modern democracy should be able to act as an objective link so that individuals can connect together and became a unified whole. Humans by nature have to have a community between among themselves, and each culture is defined by its connections among the many individuals. Policies in a democracy can be changed through the struggle of the individuals who exercise their rights and who overcome the obstacles presented by the environment. Each individual has different needs, but democracy, unlike other political forms, enables the individual to have the freedom to reach its full faculty, as an active voice in defining the course of the nation.

In order to understand Hu Shih's commitment to liberalism and representative democracy, it is helpful to look at his definition of democracy. In his article "Science and Democracy defined", he points out, "To me, democracy is a method of thinking and knowing. Both science and democracy involve an attitude of mind, a habit of behavior, a way of living." (Hu 1921: 70) In essence, Hu believe that individuals must accept democracy and that individuals can make a different first. Democracy will only work only if all citizens practice it. That is why education is very important for Hu's concept of a respective democracy.

A number of leading Chinese intellectuals during that period of time suggested that the May Fourth movement should not be politicized too much. One of the most notable supporters was Hu Shih who believed that reforms should focus mainly on the academic, educational, and literary fields. Ip also used Chen Duxiu, who called for a total `cultural revolution', as an example. Chen was convinced that the submissive nature of the Confucianism ideology will never understand the spirit or the philosophy of democracy. Chen continues, stating that democracy is "constructed as ways of supporting individual liberty, rights and happiness" (page 475). Those suggestions were by no means aimed at wealth and power, but rather at a general liberalization of the Chinese society.

Only through education can an individual become skilled in critical thinking. Before democracy could make an impact on a national scale, education must first become widespread in China. This is the main reason behind Hu's effort for a language reform, so the general public could have access to information and able to realize their rights as individuals. In addition, education should non-political in nature, according to Hu. Without the interference of politics, critical thinking of the individual can be easier to advance. Hu stated in his article "Concrete Problems Vs Abstract Isms" that "Our cultural movement [May Fourth] should deliberately avoid politics….. and in order to achieve this non-political basis for a new China, we should devote ourselves to the fundamental problems which we then regarded as predominantly intellectual, cultural, and educational." (Hu 1921: 73) He went on and attacked other intellectuals' views of national salvation, and stated they faced the danger of practicing "uncritical and slavish worship of dogmatic doctrines, such as Anarchism, Socialism, or Bolshevism." (Hu 1921: 74)

For Hu, worshipping dogmatic doctrines can be dangerous, and the only way to avoid blind faith in one ideology or another is through critical thinking. World War One was seen as a good example of what blind faith could do. The capacity of devastation created by industrialization shocked both Western and Chinese societies alike.

Hu Shih get his Ph.D from Columbia university and study under John Dewey. In fact, American intellectuals such as John Dewey and Bertrand Russell get much credit in the development of Chinese liberalism. John Dewey’s pragmatism and philosophy of focus on education had predominance in the liberalization of Chinese intellectuals thoughts. He stayed two years in China, and great efforts were make by his students such as Hu Shih to spread out his ideas. Hu Shih, who was the one of the most noticeable leaders during the May Fourth movement, had much influence on the intellectual conscience during that era.

Bertrand Russell was another influential American intellectual who visited China during the May Fourth period. Both before and after his stay in China, a number of Russell’s works in social, political, and philosophical field were translated into Chinese and became popular among Chinese reformers and liberals. "Russell’s philosophy and personality impressed the Chinese intellectuals, especially active youth, in the latter stage of the May Fourth period more deeply than those of any other contemporary Western thinker." (Chow 1960 :192)

Hu was not the only one who supported individualism and liberalism. There were other noted supporters such as Chen Duxiu, who stated "Since the outbreak of the Shandong crisis, patriotic chanting is heard everywhere. It is therefore all the more important to raise the question: Should we be patriotic or not? To ask this rational question in the midst of an emotional upheaval is particularly important …… Nationalism is chiefly an emotional response. It can drive people to extreme, irrational behavior--take the examples of the German and Japanese military… Nationalism is just another excuse for harming people, making them blind, mad enough to sacrifice themselves. We uneducated, ignorant, disorganized Chinese people aren't fit for patriotism yet, much the less for long-range reflection about what kind of country we want. But this need not always be so." (page 23) In these words, it is clearly stated that the focus of the May Fourth Movement was only to spread nationalism all over China, Other intellectuals such as Hu and Chen had a different view points on China's path toward modernity. They suggested that liberalization could supplement if not replace Liang's progressive nationalism as the main ideology for the future of China in the 1920's .

To save China, as stated by Chen, "Youth would have to continue to search for a more scientific, more logical world view with which to replace their compatriots' customary and debilitating Confucian outlook. They also persisted in their attack on the ethic of subservience that make sons unquestioningly obedient to fathers, women helplessly dependent on men, individuals frightened to express themselves in a public realm dominated by status and familial obligations." (Schwarcz: page 97).. Chen Duxiu's vision of a genuinely new youth according to Schwarcz was "not feeble, not self-indulgent, not conservative. But to go behind the teachers’ ideal of broad-mindedness and to develop their own program for a new cultural revolution in terms of independent, egalitarian, and logical thinking," (Schwarcz: Page 62) This vision has traits which are very close to the Western idea of liberalism, and this idea was very close to Hu Shih’s definition of liberalism as well.