Moral politics and order construction: A cross-cultural comparative study of Plato and Confucius' political thought

Zhuoma, Gerong (2025) Moral politics and order construction: A cross-cultural comparative study of Plato and Confucius' political thought. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 16 (1). pp. 1221-1230. ISSN 2582-8185

During the axial age of world history, Confucius and Plato respectively represented the pioneering figures of Chinese and Western history, and their political thoughts both had significant influences on later generations. Both Confucius and Plato lived in an era of chaotic order. How to establish a good political system, restore good social order and build an ideal society became a topic of common concern for them. Confucius advocated "benevolence" and "propriety", and advocated the restoration of the rites of the Zhou Dynasty, while Plato emphasized the hierarchical order and the rule of the philosophical king. Both of their ideas emphasize "rule by virtue", that is, governing the country through the good moral character of the people to achieve the goal of an ideal society. Confucius and Plato reached a cross-civilization consensus on the level of moral politics: both regarded the moral qualities of rulers as the core elements of an ideal political system. Confucius, through the ethical construction of "the unity of sage and King", took the moral self-awareness of "cultivating oneself and pacifying others" as the prerequisite for the implementation of benevolent governance. Plato, through the concept of the "Philosopher-king", advocated that rulers must undergo dialectical training to achieve a cognitive understanding of the ultimate good. This shared aspiration for realizing an ideal society reflects the common goal of the two in their pursuit of a harmonious society. Therefore, comparing the political thoughts of Confucius and Plato can not only deepen our understanding of Chinese and Western political philosophy, but also provide an effective way for us to build a harmonious society, which has important theoretical and practical significance. This article will conduct an in-depth study from aspects such as the historical background and ideological connotations of the two ideas, in order to explore their commonalities and respective uniqueness