Mozi Vs Mencius

The issue of governance has captivated political philosophers for ages. While typically seen as a Western concept, ideals of governance span all political thoughts. Specifically, within Chinese philosophy, thinkers such as Mencius, Confucius, and Mozi stand out. While Mengzi and Confucius’s ideals share many similarities, Mozi’s ideals contrast them. Nevertheless, by examining topics such as human nature, social and political responsibilities, and meritocracy, Mencius, Confucius, and Mozi provide commentary on the role of government and how men should behave in society so as to advance it.
According to Mencius, the proper role of government is to advance virtuous acts. As seen through his response, “Why must Your Majesty say, ‘profit’? Let there be benevolence and righteousness and that is all.” (Mencius 1A1), Mencius argues that questions of benefits or costs are out of the picture. Furthermore, Mencius believed that a humane ruler would be a successful government. He argued that a ruler who “return[s] to the fundamentals” and has the “old to wear silk and eat meat” would always become the king of the society (1A7). Through these writings, Mencius stresses that rulers should act like parents, so as to be compassionate and kind.

As such, Mencius prescribes such legitimacy within the Tian, which for Mencius includes aspects of fate, nature, and deity. He believed that through Tian, deeds and actions popular to society would be revealed (5A5). Moreover, the rule of a moral king is compared to the rule of Tian. Mencius attributes certain values such as “Benevolence in relation to father and son, righteousness in relation to ruler and minister, […] the sage in relation to the Way of Heaven” (7B24) to Tian. As a result, Mencius sees a ruler to be legitimate if he posses such virtues, is conferred with divine sanction, Tian, and rules with popular