Comment on “The influence of Mencius’ humanism and benevolent government on contemporary society”Yang (2024) focuses on Mencius’ political philosophy of “Benevolence Governance” from the perspectives of people-oriented thinking. Mencius, a fourth-century BCE Chinese Confucian philosopher, believed that human beings were born with innate moral features, particularly benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. These moral behaviors can be developed through moral leadership and education. Mencius considered moral politics through a moral governance that is ruled by virtuous rulers. According to Mencius, the government’s ability was seen in acting benevolently and caring for the people. He believed that people follow virtue with social harmony, not with any enforcement. However, Mencian idealism, which relies only on virtue, was risky when leaders and governors failed to be virtuous. Therefore, benevolent governance may be oppressive with cruel rulers.
Yang (2024) referred to Mencius’s main philosophical idea of “people-oriented” and “benevolence governance” for a deep understanding of the people’s living conditions and their needs when governing. Mencius’s “benevolence governance” is based on the loyal and mutual relationship between ruler and people. Applying Mencius’s “benevolent governance” in modern society means that the rulers must be aware of people’s suffering to identify defects in the national system and to do “benevolence”. In contemporary society, it is the responsibility of governments to formulate policies that improve people’s lives, reduce the entrenched divide between rich and poor, and foster social harmony. In this context, a ruler’s legitimacy depends on their capacity to care for the people and thereby demonstrate their qualification to govern a country.
Mencius’ idea of “loyalty to the king”, derived from Confucianism, referred to basic principles of “loyalty”, “benevolence”, and “honesty” that a ruler must have. In Confucian morality, the ruler and leader who is educated is concerned for the people’s well-being. In Confucianism, the ruler comprehends his people. Mencius’ political view about “benevolent governance” was a response to the situation during the chaotic and disorderly politics among rulers. Despite Chinese economic development after forty years of reform, the Chinese people have experienced depression in terms of spiritual and moral civilization. Mencius believes that if people lack morality despite enough economic growth, they will suffer. People need moral education and spiritual civilization. China at present is in the most harmonious era because the modern society is people-oriented and moralizes the people through education. The new ethics integrates traditional Chinese virtues with a contemporary spirit. Mencius’ moral education has everlasting vitality when people have progressed in the modern era through universal education and training in social ethics.
Mencius’ humanism introduces ethical leadership and benevolence leadership. Mencius integrates Confucian ethics into a democratic framework where moral cultivation enhances leadership. Chun-Chieh Huang (2001) in Mencian Hermeneutics addressed Mencius’ humanistic ideas in which the ruler and people continuously depend on each other for their survival. Mencius argued that people need a ruler. He focused on people’s continuous growth.
Moreover, Mencius was aware of the fact that human beings are innately sociopolitical and socio-ethical creatures. People’s growth depends on these sociopolitical relations, which need to be maintained. Therefore, the ruler requires political management to make his people happy. According to Mencius, the ruler will be a good Emperor if he achieves the confidence of the people. It can be said that the ruler behaves as the parent of the people. A ruler can destroy and devastate his people if he cannot rule them well. Now it is time one achieves happiness twice as much as the ancients. If the ruler practices Mencius’ benevolent government, and if the people learn what to do in their free time, they will be good, loyal, and true to their ruler.
The Practice of Mencius’ benevolent governance lets the ruler have a suitable manner with people and treat them respectfully. In fact, people are seen as supreme creatures who are revered. Mencius did not explicitly rely on a rule and standard mechanism or institution through his virtue-based, benevolent governance. For Mencius, as long as a ruler could extend his compassionate feeling to his people, the king would become a truly benevolent king.
According to Mencius, a ruler never lets the daily things impede the healthy development of his innate moral inclinations. Moreover, a ruler should channel their natural human emotions toward worthy action, not letting their self-centeredness overcome and stand in their way of behaving with people (Jiang, 2021). However, the limitation of this approach lies in its tendency to overstate the role of personal virtue in politics while neglecting the significance of political power. In other words, the Mencian perspective does not recognize the political domain as operating according to its own rules and dynamics.
In conclusion, Mencius’ political philosophy of benevolence governance and people-oriented has a significant influence on the development of modern society when it is based on China’s spiritual civilization. Mencius’ people-oriented and benevolent governance ideologies in modern society help the ruler to achieve political stability and build a harmonious society through people’s support with rich spiritual civilization. However, Mencius’s theories are understandable through social practice in a certain period of time.
Reference
- HUANG, C. C. Mencian hermeneutics: a history of interpretations in China. New Jersey: Transaction publisher, 2001.
- JIANG, T. Origins of Moral-Political Philosophy in Early China: Contestation of Humaneness, Justice, and Personal Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
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YANG, Q. The influence of Mencius’ humanism and benevolent government on contemporary society. Trans/Form/Ação: Unesp journal of philosophy, Marília, SP, v. 47, n. 4, p. e0240083, 2024. Available at: https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/14844
» https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/14844
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Data availability statement:
The dataset for this article is available in the SciELO Dataverse of the Trans/Form/Ação Journal, at the link: https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-3173.2025.v48.n6.e025171
The dataset for this article is available in the SciELO Dataverse of the Trans/Form/Ação Journal, at the link: https://doi.org/10.1590/0101-3173.2025.v48.n6.e025171
