Human nature, and the aim to understand it, has been a principal concern in Chinese Philosophy for centuries. This entry will explore some of the teachings postulated, and in turn serve as a foundation for the particular value-system and apprehension of the human condition taught and practiced in our city-state. It will become clear that a favourable approach lies in the intermediacy

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At the core of the social contract, that which serves as the very foundation of the polis, lies the notion of equality and impartial caring. In the Analects Confucius said, “The noble man is all-embracing and not partial. The inferior man is partial and not all-embracing.” This saying is principal to understand the philosophy our city is built upon. Specifically, it serves as a binary opposite

to our conception of the human condition. Given The Masters strong emphasis on family and filial piety, xiao – 孝 -, it is no surprise to see him postulate a particular hierarchy of caring and interpersonal attention and commitment. Partiality, he says, starts with ‘family allegiance’ – one must express virtue and respect for ones immediate relations, as well as related ancestors. Caring, he continues, “decreases by degrees as it extends outwards”. Contrary to this, however, in our Utopia we wish to postulate the opposite, and align ourselves with the teachings of Mozi and his followers and their notion of universal love, jian ai – 兼愛 -. While we acknowledge that Confucius’ account is more traditionally depicted as closer to the human condition – that of elevated caring towards one’s immediate kin – we do believe that with particular means such as right education as well as socially imposed values from early age, this natural urge can be reversed. We recognize further that this would require a heroic feat of social engineering to establish, but as a long-term project imposed on a relatively small number of willing individuals, we believe it is viable. In any case, this account is facilitated primarily by Mozi’s notion of a single conception of right, or yi – 義 -. Mozi believed in an external standard of conduct, fa -发- and so do we, yet in a secular form. Rather than receiving a particular conduct derived from Heaven, tian -天-, as the Mohists postulated, such a standardized procedure will be articulated and enforced by the social contract, the document which binds the participating individuals to our framework upon establishment.

Paramount to this framework, then, is the idea of impartial caring, or universal love. We believe that a single unity of belief will better solidify a strong social cohesion, mitigating the potential tension that arise between people. Moreover, it amplifies a voluntarily urge to help one’s fellow brother or sister in the sense that one can more easily identify with one another. Additionally, this conception is more conceivable in a community absent of social class, which inherently fosters jealousy, distrust and thus is very little pragmatic. In short, Confucius’ xiao simply isn’t compatible with communitarian living.

However, another Confucian maxim we do wish espouse is what is commonly known as the ‘Golden Rule’, or essentially what in Western philosophical discourse is intermittently referred to as the ‘Harm Principle’. (It ought to be noted here that although we attribute this life lesson to Confucius, it was in fact adopted by several the major schools of Chinese thought e.g Taoism and Mohism)  Confucius, long before being adapted by Christianity, postulated a negative version of this rule. Approached by one of his followers, Zi Gong asked: “Is there one word that may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life?” The Master said, “Is not reciprocity such a word?” (15:24). Moreover, as aforementioned, the same sentiments can be found in the Daodejing, chapter 49:

The sage has no interest of his own, but takes the interests of the people as his own. He is kind to the kind; he is also kind to the unkind: for Virtue is kind. He is faithful to the faithful; he is also faithful to the unfaithful: for Virtue is faithful.

As is apparent, then, we espouse a value system that is designed in order to unveil the innate goodness located within people. The mechanism we use is to impose particular values consistent with an overall framework which benefits all. This will be conducted through school, as well as a multitude of arenas around the community.