Legalism (Chinese philosophy)

Uncommon card · No. 95343

Legalism (Chinese: 法家; pinyin: fǎjiā) refers to an intellectual, political, and philosophical orientation beginning in the Warring States period of China. While heterogeneous, the Legalists generally shared a view of most people—or at least the elite—as fundamentally self-interested, emphasizing equality under the law, administrative methods, and regulations. In addition, the Legalists tended to view the strengthening of agriculture and the military as the primary concern of the state, and they advocated for reducing the power of the aristocracy in favor of meritocracy and limiting the direct interference in the affairs of state by the sovereign. The Legalist emphasis on pragmatic, results-driven governance put them at odds with the Confucians, who advocated for cultivated virtue as a primary method of building a well-governed state, as well as the Mohists, who supported an egalitarian society driven by universal love. While the core Legalist thinkers heavily criticised Confucianism and...

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