A Study On The Unity Of "Yi" And "Li" In "Economic Man" Under The Socialist Market Economy System

China is currently in the rapid development of market economy and the freedom of market economy makes man free to make profits. However, at the same time the phenomenon of moral failure occurs frequently, which has caused widespread concerns from people in all circles. Selfish business conducts outstand the conflicts between profit and morality. At this moment, it seems that such conflicts between ’profit’ and ’righteousness’ have almost become irreconcilable. However, on the contrary, profit and morality are not opposing relations in the socialist market economic system; both ’profit’ and ’righteousness’ of the economic entities can be combined and united in the economic activities. Researches on the personality and behavior of economic entities in the economic activities are based on the ’economic man’ theory in the western economics. The economic entities abstracted from ’economic man’ theory are perfectly rational and self-interested people, whose concept is one-sided, and when the economic entities in reality are featured in complete rationality and self-interest, they turn out to be the ’materialistic’people. The coming of ’materialistic’people makes people alienated by economic interests and it is the main reason for the occurrence of moral lack. The nature of the market economy is freedom which determines the inevitability of self-interest for’economic man’. However, the abstract ’economic man’ theory cannot summarize the economic entities in the socialist market economic system. This paper criticizes and reflects on the contradictions between one-sided abstract of economic entities in the’economic man’ theory and social production and living in reality, indicating the complexity and specific nature of economic entities’personality in the socialist market economic system, and discusses the traditional moral and cultural foundation and institutional conditions forming by the’economic men’ that features in the united ’profit’ and ’righteousness’ in the socialist market economy environment based on the above discussions.Materialism is the basic position for the choice of the topics, and the unity of logic and history is the primary methodological principle. During this research, this paper is tried to be written by starting from the Marxist social man theory which is needed to be modeled in China, and analyses the ’economic man’ theory on the basis of Chinese traditional business ethics. Firstly, it collects and reviews the research results of ’economic man’ theory from domestic and foreign scholars, which provides theoretical reference to the realization of the unification of ’profit’ and’righteousness’ for’economic man’ in the socialist market economic system. Secondly, it analyses the inherent contradictions inside the’economic man’ theory. There are contradictions between the completely rational and ideal behavior of’economic man’ in the economic activity and the instability of the real market; there are contradictions between the one-sided and abstract personality of economic entities in the’economic man’ theory and the complex and specific personality of social man in the market economy. Thirdly, this paper elaborates the inheritance and development of Chinese traditional business ethics and culture, and indicates the traditional ethics and culture foundations for the unification of ’profit’ and ’righteousness’ of ’economic man’ in the socialist market economy by examples of positive business development and combinations with our great traditional morality. Fourthly, under the systematic guarantee of full-fledged ’social man’ in the socialist economic system and the methodological guidance of traditional Chinese culture, this paper finally points out how an ’economic man’ has been shaped into a’social man’ with united ’profit’ and ’righteousness’ after many ups and downs in the practice.