A Comparative Study Of The Economic Ethics Of Guanzi And Xunz

Economic ethics arises from human’s social and economic activities,that is to say,it is the sum of economic behaviors,economic decisions and economic systems in line with ethics and morality,as well as the ethical and moral order and norms produced in them and used in economic activities themselves,and it has a coordinating and guiding effect on the ethical relations in economic activities.Economic ethics comes into being in the internal principles of economic operation,endores people’s economic behavior with rationality and legitimacy,and guides people’s economic behavior with value.Guanzi and Xunzi,as two classic works in the pre-Qin period,have made fruitful achievements in the study of their economic ethical thoughts,but there is still no one involved in the study of their economic ethical thoughts from the perspective of comparison.In the process of socialist modernization construction with Chinese characteristics,re-examining the economic ethics thought of Guanzi and Xunzi not only deepen the research of Chinese traditional economic ethics thought,but also seek ethical support for economic development and social progress.During the period of Spring and Autumn and Warring States,the feudal system that maintained the political power through blood relations began to shake,and slavery began to collapse.The competition of military forces intensified the transformation of social structure,and the new landlord class began to challenge the authority for more interests.The Shiqing and clan system gradually began to transform to the feudal bureaucratic system,and China was about to transform from a loose agricultural society to a unified centralized state.The optimization and innovation of production tools led to the rapid development of productivity,which resulted in unprecedented economic prosperity and promoted the progress of productivity level,and began to appear production surplus.Driven by the pursuit of "leftovers",also known as "self-interest",various social contradictions became complicated and commodity exchange activities began to flourish.The cultural environment of civilization integration and openness and inclusiveness made thinkers start to break the shackles of their inherent thoughts,which promoted the emergence of economic ethics in Guanzi and Xunzi.The background of economic form in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,this paper expounds the economic ethical thoughts of Guanzi and Xunzi respectively from the four links of economic operation.These links include production,exchange,distribution and consumption.stage of production,both Guanzi and Xunzi advocated that agricultural production was still the core of the production of social material wealth,and was the "essential" industry that enriched the country and the people.Xunzi continues the producer ethic of Guanzi,which divides the people into four categories according to their occupations,and believes that no matter what occupation they are engaged in,they should be down-to-earth all the time.They all recognize that man is a part of nature and should pay attention to ecological protection and sustainable production while satisfying material benefits.In the exchange stage,Guanzi and Xunzi both realized that it was not enough to rely only on agricultural production to make the country and its people rich.They should pay attention to the role of industry and commerce in improving productivity and economic growth while developing agricultural production,and made norms and requirements for the main participants in commercial activities,namely businessmen.The theory of light and heavy of Guanzi is unique among the pre-Qin thinkers,and this advanced view of state regulation is a unique existence in Chinese traditional economic ethics.In the stage of distribution,Xunzi was influenced by the Confucian thought of "Benevolence" and the principle of "rites of Zhou".On the one hand,Xunzi advocated the strict adoption of hierarchical distribution system and the protection of the interests of rulers by poor distribution,and on the other hand,he believed that the rulers paid attention to the protection of the interests of vulnerable groups.Although Guanzi did not emphasize absolute equality,it advocated "the reasonable distance between poor and rich" on the basis of the land distribution policy of "averaging land",and paid attention to the gain and loss of common people’s interests on the basis of maintaining the feudal rule.In terms of the distribution of social resources,Guanzi and Xunzi both select and investigate talents by virtue and ability.In the consumption stage,thrift is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation since ancient times.Guanzi and Xunzi also advocate thrift,which is the main social consumption orientation,but excessive thrift is not conducive to the development and progress of social economy.Therefore,in terms of consumption ethics,they all advocate the principle of hierarchical consumption.The ruling class can consume moderately and luxuriously to stimulate production demand and promote production development.Ordinary people should still be thrifty and work hard.Although they all use "rite" to distinguish the levels of consumption,the utilitarian tendency of Guanzi is still different from the moral doctrine of Xunzi.The difference of economic ethical thought between Guanzi and Xunzi is rooted in the difference of philosophical foundation and human nature theory.Therefore,there is a difference between the two concepts of justice and interests.The philosophical foundation of the economic ethics thought in Guanzi is to integrate the "Dao" of Taoism and the "morality" of Confucianism,add the economic utilitarianism with the characteristics of Legalism,and inject the content of utilitarianism into the moral norms such as benevolence,righteousness,propriety and wisdom,so as to form an inclusive economic ethics thought unique to Guanzi.In his materialistic philosophy,he formed the theory of moral essence that material basis determines moral quality.Xunzi advocated "the division of heaven and man",separated man from nature and proposed "adapting the law of heaven and making use of it",so that man was no longer constrained by the "mandate of heaven",and emphasized the subjective initiative and subject spirit of man.Guanzi believes that people are self-interested,which gives rationality and legitimacy to people’s pursuit of desire and interests.The human nature theory that people are self-interested and seek benefits and avoid harms determines the level of people’s morality."Evil human nature" has determined the basic tendency of Xunzi’s economic ethics thought.It is the nature of human beings to be born and make good profits,and economic activities are originally to meet the needs of human production and development and material desires,and Xunzi’s theory of moral essence is also generated from this.The process of "transforming human nature" is the process of the formation of human propriety and morality.Guanzi and Xunzi as two classical works in ancient China,compare and study the economic ethics thought of Guanzi and Xunzi,on the one hand,on the one hand,it can make us understand its internal thoughts more deeply and firmly.On the other hand,in the process of comparative research,we can enrich and develop the depth and breadth of economic ethics thought,and provide useful enlightenment for the construction of economic ethics in the new era and the development of market economic model in the new era,and also promote innovative transformation and development of traditional Chinese culture.