Mozi Ideal Society Summary

Mozi’s Path Towards An Ideal Society Mozi was a philosopher that was lived during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. Mozi held the belief that the Warring States period had fallen into a decline in righteousness. Although Mozi lived around the same period as Confucius, he was known to criticize the Confucius school of thought and detailed his personal philosophy on how to restore society back to absolute goodness. Mozi detailed the mechanisms of an excellent society through the use of statehood, personal, and supernatural intervention. (Change later) Mozi, while disdainful towards his current leaders, argued that society would progress through the actions of noble class gaining respect from the lower classes. The great officials of the period would “all want their
This system would have also been used to form checks and balance. A person was to only be promoted if they truly were worthy of the task. This allowed for the leaders to have workers that would “exert themselves in honoring virtue” (Mozi 64). Occupation or hierarchical ranking was argued to not be a factor and that worthy people came from all walks of life. Mozi also argued that society could not progress through wasteful military campaigns. Mozi argued that while killing and stealing is easily identifiable as reprehensible, aggressive state affairs bend the line between humane and inhumane. A single person’s actions can have dire consequences, but if a state commits the same actions, its punishment is nonexistent. Mozi condemned this notion of aggression and asked for the leaders and gentlemen “to condemn such actions and declare that they are wrong” (Mozi 77). Mozi believed that that the leaders should cease to praising and to stop “declare (ing) that it is the right thing to