Governances and policies are determined by the rulers. A leader can decide to use the Confucianism method of ruling or they can decide to adopt the Legalist methods. At the long run, all that a country or a state or an empire requires is a unified society which abides by the law and is loyal to the leaders. The philosophy of Confucianism was first elaborated by Confucius around 490 BC. His idea was based on the ethical aspect of ruling. He believed that people live in a society because they need the togetherness for them to fully develop. He also believed that respect should always come from both sides of the leaders and the subjects; the subjects should respect the leaders as well as the leaders respect them (Lai, 2008). By so doing the empire will develop fully with harmony and togetherness. On the other hand, the Legalists believe that a society can only be ruled more efficiently when the wrong-doers are well punished and those who have done the right things are well rewarded. Fei-tzu, the proponent of Legalist form of government believes that a government can only be fully functional when people are forced to do the right things (Lai, 2008).
According to Confucianism, people are naturally created in a way that they yearn to live together with others. The proponents believe that an individual is more dependent to the society than the society is to them. As a result, they will always want to be part of a given society. This will result to unity and cohesion within the society. Legalists on the other hand believe that people must be made to appreciate harmony and togetherness. In other words, those who show any form of disloyalty to the state should be punished accordingly. This means that everybody will endeavor to foster unity in order to avoid punishment (Lai, 2008). The Confucianism also believes that it is the moral duty of every member of the society to ensure sustainability and expansion of their territory. It is a noble course by every individual of a given society to be a part of the military activities so that they can ensure that their territory is well defended and even expanded. The Legalists believe that not all member of a society are patriots. People therefore must be forced to be a part of the military so as to ensure that the empire is well defended as well as expanded.
The governments who adopt the Confucianism believe that there should be respect to the parents and the ancestors. This means that they will always identify themselves with a given ancestry which they respect and uphold with the highest dignity. Those who believe in Legalism do not stick on the issues of ancestry or some blood lineage. They believe that good leadership does not involve praising the dead emperors but rather making the subject to be loyal and patriotic to their country or states (Ma, 2000). This means that those who are involved in any form betrayal to the society will always be punished accordingly. Confucianism governments believe that it is the responsibility of leaders to ensure the total well-being of their subjects. A leader who does not take care of his responsibilities will face rebellion and even ousted out. However, the Legalists believe that it is the responsibility of citizens to ensure that they contribute to the development of their country. Those who are hesitant will be forced to comply (Ma, 2000).
According to the Confucianism, leaders should always ensure that the roads are well built, the food security is obtained, the health services and other social amenities are well taken care of. Rulers who fail to abide by their responsibly will always face strong oppositions and they can even end up being thrown out of power. Legalists on the other hand, believe that for a smooth operation of a state, the subject must be forced to do what is required of them. They must be forced to be part of the military; they must be forced to remove taxes; they also have to support the ideologies of the ruling government. Legalists believe that very few people are smart enough to do what is expected of them. The remaining lot must therefore be forced to do the right thing for their own social, economic and political good (Ma, 2000).
Various governments use various ideologies to ensure that the state is unified and stable politically, socially and economically. Despite the ideologies that they confer to, their end goal is always one; a stable and unified state with a strong economy.
Reference
Ma, L. (2000). A comparison of the legitimacy of power between Confucianist and legalist philosophies. Asian Philosophy, 10(1), 49-59.
Lai, K. (2008). An introduction to Chinese philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
