A Comparison of the Legitimacy of Power Between Confucianist and Legalist Philosophies

Author: Li Ma

Source: Asian Philosophy, Volume 10, Number 1, 1 March 2000 , pp. 49-59(11)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

The concept of legitimacy is at the heart of the theory of power. It is essential to understand how a political power is built and how obedience is obtained among the population. We examine here the legitimacy of power for two of the most important political philosophies of classical China: Confucianism and Legalism. We show how a specific group of the population, the scholar-officials, play a specialised role in the two systems, acting as a legitimisation group. We further compare rites and laws as a way to obtain social order, and morality vs punishments as a way to obtain obedience. We conclude that the Confucianist system is less fragile than the Legalist, but also more oppressive, since it allows fewer personal choices to individuals.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

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