Legalism

To say that legalism is strict would be to understate the rigidity of legalist rule. However, though the legalist laws and punishments were extremely harsh, the philosophy of legalism is one that makes sense. In a passage from “The Guanzi”, Master Guan says “In applying punishments, light offenses should be punished heavily; if light offenses do not appear, heavy offenses will not come. This is said to be abolishing penalties by means of penalties, and if penalties are abolished, affairs will succeed”. This passage means that in a legalist society, each crime will have the same punishment-likely death- so that people are never able to move on to bigger crimes. Each different part of the legalist writings seem to say that same thing; if one ruler has all the power to enforce what he believes over his people, then there will be more structure and less hardship. This is the basic premise for legalism. A legalist ruler does not appreciate scholarship, or virtue, because neither is for the good of the society. What a legalist ruler does appreciate is obedience. An obedient citizen will earn the respect of a legalist ruler.
This system of harsh punishments was used and enforced in China during the warring states period. Men like Shang Yang, who were against the more traditional confusion values, began to enforce legalist rule over their states. In everyday life, this rule meant that if you killed someone you would be killed, and likewise if you stole a piece of break for your starving family you would be killed. The thinking was that a structured set of laws would lead to a structured and therefore successful society. It makes sense to see the rise of such a rigid rule during the warring states period because each empire and state is trying to survive and become the strongest. The legalist rule was harsh so that their state could be strong, and militarily it was. Though legalism is possibly too strict by today’s standards, during the warring states period, Legalism provided the strongest and most reliable living environment.