Legalism

“Punishments should know no degree or grade, but from ministers of state and generals down to great officers and ordinary folk, whoever does not obey the king’s commands, violates the interdicts of the state, or rebels against the statutes fixed by the ruler should be guilty of death and should not be pardoned. Merit acquired in the past should not cause a decrease in the punishment for demerit later, nor should good behavior in the past cause and derogation of the law for wrong later done.”

--Rewards and Punishments

This particular passage states that all punishment is equal with no consideration of your moral or social standing. Punishments do not vary in degree of harshness; all crimes earn the same punishment of death. This follows the overall philosophy of Legalism. Legalists believe that one has a duty to follow the laws set down by the ruler. Under no circumstance should these laws be broken or questioned, as people should be weak to make the state strong. As long as the people are afraid of punishment there will be no crime. This is why there is only one harsh form of punishment in the state. Petty crimes will always exist if they are not treated with the same intensity as murder. As long as people are obedient subjects to their ruler the state will remain strong.

This should be applied to Chinese society in order to prevent crime from ever happening. It also unifies people as everyone is seen as equal under the law. Even members high up in the government are the same as the ordinary people. Ordinary people are less likely to be unhappy with their punishments if they know that they are the same for everyone. This makes it more difficult for the upper class to receive special treatment with lighter punishments for wrongdoing. Since everyone lives their lives knowing the result of committing even a small crime it gives the population a common ground that can allow them to relate to one another on a certain topic.

The last sentence of the quote is in direct conflict with Confucianism. In Confucianism your merit is very important as it is a meritocracy. Moral education is very important, so if one was previously moral they would most likely be punished less severely than anther person who was not moral in the past. Their good behavior should not be discounted completely. However, some ideas are still similar. Confucians see filial piety as the most important aspect of human life. The people are to show the ruler of the country filial piety without question. In Legalism, the people are also supposed to respect the ruler as the father of the country.