Confucius's Economic Thought: Righteousness Over Profit,affecting China for thousands of years. It's like a glow stick at night guiding pedestrians.

Confucius's economic thought is mainly about the value of righteousness over profit, the view of righteousness and benefit of "seeing benefits and thinking about righteousness" and the thought of "enriching the people". This is also the main content of Confucian economic thought, which has great influence on later generations.

Confucius's so-called "righteousness" is a social moral norm, and "benefit" refers to people's pursuit of material interests. Confucius put "righteousness" in the first place in the relationship between "righteousness" and "benefit". 

He said, "See what profit means." People are required to consider how to conform to the "righteousness" in the face of interests. He believes that "righteousness is then taken", that is, only in accordance with "righteousness", can we get it. 

Confucius's Economic Thought: Righteousness Over Profit,affecting China for thousands of years. It's like a glow stick at night guiding pedestrians.

Confucius even advocated in The Analects of Confucius, that is, to say less about "benefit", but not to say "benefit". Confucius said, "Unrighteousness, wealth and wealth are like clouds to me." Getting rich by doing things that are not in accordance with morality is like floating clouds, disdaining to acquire wealth by unjust means. In his mind, righteousness is the highest value of life. When there is a contradiction between wealth and morality, he would rather suffer from poverty than give up morality. 

Confucius also believed that the attitude towards "righteousness" and "benefit" could distinguish "gentleman" from "villain". A moral "gentleman" easily understands the importance of "righteousness", while a "villain" Lacking moral accomplishment only knows "benefit" but not "righteousness". This is what Confucius said in The Analects of Confucius Liren: "A gentleman means righteousness while a villain means profit".

Confucius's Economic Thought: Righteousness Over Profit,affecting China for thousands of years. It's like a glow stick at night guiding pedestrians.

Some people think that since Confucius emphasized righteousness, he would certainly despise physical labor. This view is wrong. In the Analects of Confucius, Fan Chi, a disciple who wanted to study agriculture, was very dissatisfied and called him a "villain", because Confucius believed that people should have greater ideals and pursue, and bear greater responsibilities. He wants his students to be value bearers, not farmers.

Confucius's Economic Thought: Righteousness Over Profit,affecting China for thousands of years. It's like a glow stick at night guiding pedestrians.

Because of Confucius'conservative political attitude, the reform of economic system also reflects conservative ideas. For example, in the fifteenth year of Luxuan Gong's reign (594 B.C.), the implementation of the "initial tax mu" was a major economic reform in the Spring and Autumn Period. However, according to Zuo Zhuan, Confucius recorded the "initial tax mu" in his revision of the "Spring and Autumn Period" in order to criticize its "impoliteness". And if the people are not rich, the monarch can not be rich. 

In the Analects of Confucius Yao Yue, it is also recorded that Confucius advocated "benefit for the benefit of the people", that is, to do what is beneficial to the people. On the other hand, he advocated that taxes should be lighter and that the apportionment of corvee should not delay farming time.  According to the Analects of Confucius, Confucius also preached to the politicians at that time, demanding that they should not be too luxurious and pay attention to thrift. He said, "Luxury is not inferior, thrift is solid. 

At the same time, it also advocates "saving and loving". Here bread contains the application of Confucius'benevolence to the economic field.

Confucius's Economic Thought: Righteousness Over Profit,affecting China for thousands of years. It's like a glow stick at night guiding pedestrians.