Influences of Confucianism

Many people will take the topic of political thought and relate it to something that has affected the Western world. While I am not a proponent of the "Us vs. Them" concept, for the purposes of this blog I do want to focus on Eastern political thought, which spawned a different type of government because it is a different type of society.

In the West, as a general statement, society generally places the importance of the individual over the group. But in many Asian societies, blending in is expected, and people work to reach goals of the group. One reason for this is the role Confucianism played in the lives of those who established cohesive government centuries ago.

Confucianism is, first of all, not a religion. It is a philosophy and a way of establishing the relationship between the individual and society.

In China, believing in Confucianism is similar to believing in democracy in America. Confucius promoted five main relationships:

1. Ruler to Subject
2. Father to Son
3. Husband to Wife
4. Elder Brother to Younger Brother
5. Friend to Friend

The first two relate to politics, the second simply in that in many societies, especially the ones with strong Chinese influence, the emperor or other leader is akin to the father of the society, which is like the children.

There are three core features to Confucianism: Preserving order, hierarchy in social spheres, and correct conduct. The hierarchy especially, which places the emperor in a position unequal to the everyday citizen, is the root of the way people act today. They are expected to respect, be loyal to, and obey superiors, which is why they do not often question government (the Chinese revere Mao, for example, and the Japanese used to see their emperor as divine) the way we often do as a result of European Enlightenment philosophers.