The Confucian Approach to Distributive Justice:An Evaluation of Xunzi's Morality-Based Theory of Distributive Justice
Distributive justice is a universal pursuit in human societies,and Confucianism is no exception.Compared to other theories,Confucian distributive justice emphasizes the role of moral cultivation in the process of distribution.Xunzi,in particular,developed this institutional concept to its peak,constructing a hierarchical distributive system that integrates moral cultivation,political hierarchy,and the distribution of benefits.In this system,morality(rituals and righteousness)is the main factor determining one's position in the hierarchical order and the corresponding rights and interests.Xunzi regarded this as the"ultimate fairness"in distribution because,in his view,all people are equal on a moral basis,and moral cultiva-tion depends entirely on the choices of the"heart",thus ensuring equal opportunities.This allows for the overcoming of the pitfalls of a jungle society where rank is determined by brute force and a traditional society where status is decided by blood-line and birth.Its theoretical advantages include:the hierarchical order effectively curbs the inherent tendency towards lazi-ness and pleasure-seeking,balancing material production with human desires;positions are open to all and consider the needs of vulnerable groups;and to some extent,it can prevent the risk of power abuse.However,from a modern perspective,there are also shortcomings,such as the difficulty in objectively measuring moral standards,the potential disconnection be-tween one's moral status and the actual social effects of their actions,the impact of the principle of"graded love"in moral application on social equity,insufficient compensatory resource allocation for achieving justice,the restriction of limited a-vailability of political positions on the moral development of the entire population,and the actual suppression and negation of moral and value pluralism.
distributive justiceXunziritual and righteousnesshierarchical social structure
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