Abstract
This article aims to offer a new interpretation of the economic thought in the Mengzi. Through careful textual and contextual analyses, it argues that Mencius’ seeming suspicion concerning “benefit” is actually a discourse in response to the contemporary political and cultural milieu. The seminal concern of Mencius’ economic thought entails appropriate consideration of both material benefits and morality. While this feature has already been seen in the Analects, Mencius further develops a theory of moral sense to elucidate the relationship between ethics and economic life, and employs history as an intellectual resource to illuminate the economic blueprint as well as the moral character of benevolent governance. In a nutshell, attending to the interplay between economic life and morality is a critical component in Mencius’ teachings; furthermore, Mencius’ economic discourse not only constitutes an indispensable part of his political philosophy, but also sheds light on the intellectual history of pre-imperial China.
Keywords
Mengzi (Mencius), economic thought, benefit, moral sense, intellectual history of pre-imperial China
Cite
Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.
