| Abstract |
Xunzi’s economic discourse centered around “Enriching the State” is constructed within the framework of the intellectual exchange between Confucianism and Mohism as manifestations of prominent learning. By critiquing the Confucian ideological consciousness of “Non-Twelve Sons” towards others and internal others, we can delineate the fundamental differences between Xunzi’s paradigm and other schools of thought. It can be observed that Xunzi’s criticism of Mozi focuses on “emphasizing functionality, great frugality, and minimizing discrepancies,” summarizing Mohist thought through economic critique rather than the altruistic theory of moral practice. Examining Xunzi’s economic thought reveals that it primarily addresses three dimensions of Mozi’s critique in “Non-Twelve Sons.” Furthermore, it can be understood that in Xunzi’s self-identification as a Confucian, the fundamental distinction from Mohism lies not in the opposition between “benefit” and “righteousness,” but in the difference between “frugality” and “frugality through ritual” and “frugality to benefit the people.” In the context of economics, it can be said that Mozi “uses frugality as a means to expand resources” through self-imposed austerity, while Xunzi “expands resources as a means to practice frugality” amidst ceremonial extravagance. In other words, in his economic discourse, Xunzi still incorporates ritual as the ultimate value. This constitutes a political-economic system of “enriching the people through governance.” In an economic discourse centered around ritual, Xunzi not only addresses material wealth but also emphasizes material civilization. He believes that prosperity in economic discourse is not only material but also involves spiritual abundance. As long as one can enrich and support the people, rather than simply imposing the duty of self-imposed austerity and frugality on the emperor and common people, then there will be an inexhaustible source of life force to harness all things, ensuring an abundance of resources through expansion, and thus, there will be no issue of “worrying about the insufficiency of the world.” |
