Confucius once said:
“At fifteen my heart was set on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no more doubts; at fifty I knew the will of heaven; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I could follow my heart’s desire without overstepping the boundaries of what was right.” (2.4, Confucious, 4, Slingerland)
If it took Confucius seventy years of cultivation to attain the amount of virtue and knowledge he believed was essential to the near-perfect human being, as aforementioned, it is probably wise to assume that all members of our society are flawed in ways pertaining to human nature. Thus it is essential to discuss some basic characteristics of human nature observable within the world we live in. For example, while we agree that if everyone in the world practiced Mozi’s idea of impartial caring, the world would be a much better place; realistically, there simply doesn’t exist a person who is entirely partial or impartial for the very reason that it defies human nature. In this regard, we adopt the Confucian thought that all humans are built for goodness and capable of kindness and sympathy for the same reason that Mencius explains when discussing the internal benevolence of men:
“When I say that all men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others, my meaning may be illustrated thus:– even now-a-days, if men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they will without exception experience a feeling of alarm and distress. They will feel so, not as a ground on which they may gain the favor of the child’s parents, nor as a ground on which they may seek the praise of their neighbors and friends, nor from a dislike to the reputation of having been unmoved by such a thing.” (2A6, Mencius, Legge)
However, we believe that harnessing this internal goodness has little to do with self-cultivation and more to do with external guidance. Confucius’ idea that humans must be morally enlightened before being able to perform acts of goodness seems only applicable to a very small portion of humanity. People as we know, do not normally engage in a lifelong commitment to learning and self-cultivation. Should the acts of kindness and benevolence of these people be dismissed as pretentious because they are not entirely morally good? We certainly don’t believe so. Instead, we want to create a society where the system is built upon allowing people to succeed and to be rewarded for their success. While this may seem like the Mozian approach of using materialistic incentives to prosper the state, it is not our intention to disregard moral goodness entirely. Rather, we believe that when human beings are kept happy within a state of stability and safety, they are much more likely to perform acts of benevolence and be sympathetic towards others. It is a cycle where preserved happiness leads to more acts of benevolence and through these acts, people become more morally cultivated. While we cannot ensure that all if any members of our society achieve Confucius’ definition of wuwei, it is nevertheless our interest to ensure that the people are educated, healthy, fed and happy with their lives so that they may be in the best possible state to embrace their inner goodness and that this cultivated goodness will pass from one generation to the next.