Conversation Between a Daoist, Legalist, and a Confucion
...enforce it, no authoritative humanity, moral authority and the like, is the key to a harmonious society and a strong state. So I don’t know what guys are thinking. L: Oh yeah, and what about this business about being a “good man?” C: I must tell you my Legalist friend that a Confucian junzi finds his calling in service to the ruler. The highest virtue of our philosophy is ren. We believe in on golden rule which we all live by, “do not do unto others want you would not have them do unto you.” D: I partially agree with my Confucian confidant. We Taoist reject all forms of self-assertiveness and competition. We live on the basis that “He who stands on tiptoe, doesn’t stand firm. He who rushes ahead, doesn’t go far. He who tries to shine, dims his light.” We believe that no fault is greater than the desire to acquire. The highest good in a man was to be like water. Water benefits all creatures but does not compete. It occupies the places people disdain and thus comes near to the Way. The Way or Dao is the indivisible, indescribable, immaterial force or energy that is the source of all that exists or happens. We also believe that weapons are the tools of violence and all decent men detest them. A descent man should only use a weapon when he is in absolute danger. L: Again, all of you are wrong. People solely exist to serve and strength the state. Those who weaken the state will be severely punished. So, a good man is a gentleman who does what he is told, strengthens the state, and abides by all laws and rules the ruler makes. L: I was also looking at how you think rulers should act. We Legalists believe that a good ruler should create a comprehensive system of laws that rewards all behavior of benefit to the state and severely punish behavior that weakens the state. A good ruler should also carefully construct the laws in a way that people, particularly government ministers, have incentives to spy on their peers and associates. D: I respectfully disagree. A good leader is best when people barely know he exists. C: My friends, we Confucians believe that a ruler should rule his people by moral force, and keep order among them by ritual. Ritual in this context means proper performance of court and religious ceremonies and correct etiquette. When the ruler does keep order, the people will keep their self-respect and come to the ruler on their own. L: What do you people think about government? C: The first principle of Confucius' thought was benevolent government. The state should be ruled by enlightened, benevolent leaders. These men (women were excluded from politics) should be educated, cultivated, and posses the virtues of humaneness (ren), morality (de) and know the way (dao). He called these men "junzi," literally the "sons of lords." Junzi (sometimes translated as "gentlemen" or "superior men") could come from any class of society, but once trained; they should set themselves apart as a separate class. Thus Confucianism allowed for social mobility—lower class men could rise to positions of leadership--but was basically elitist in spirit and practice, making a clear distinction between the "junzi" and the "small" or "petty men" of the laboring and merchant classes. D: We do not believe in a government. We believe in everyone doing as what they should do, have Tao. L: We legalist believe that are political realists who advocated a system of laws and punishments. L: You people fascinate me. You act so carefree. I am wondering…What do you think about social class? C: We believe that people should stick up for social class; abide by the law and behave oneself; act proper to one's status; behave discreetly; and most important...