The Spectrum: Legalism, Mohism, Confucianism

“The six parasites are rites and music, odes and history, cultivation and goodness, filial devotion and brotherly love, sincerity and trustworthiness, uprightness and integrity, humaneness and rightness, criticism of the army and being ashamed of fighting…”

The harsh philosophies of Legalism are focused mostly on condemning the things which the religion views as excessive or unnecessary, and keeping to a very strictly structured ladder of society. There are no elaborate phrasings, no subtleties; these would be decadent and meaningless. In this way, the writing style of the Guanzi directly reflects the beliefs of the religion.
The passage wastes no time in getting straight to the point, saying outright the things that should not be done, that are trivial and unproductive. This view of eliminating the unnecessary is shared, in part, by Mohism. Mohist belief has no relevance for ritual and ceremony, music, philosophy, learnedness. Both Legalism and Mohism focus on attaining a rather bare lifestyle, doing only that which is required to keep one alive, to keep society thriving, and preach against wasting precious time on the luxurious pursuits that followers of Confucianism emphasize.
Unlike Mohism, though, Legalism openly dismisses filial piety as yet another pointless gesture. The Legalist ideal is that no man be given any greater respect or any less punishment than any other man. To be filially pious would be to offset this balance. Yet it contradicts itself in this sense, somewhat, in its assertion for a strong, central state and a weak people. In theory, a crime committed by a commoner and a governor would elicit the same punishment for each, but in such a situation, it is quite likely that that very same strong state might overlook the infraction of their own official in order to keep themselves strong.
The strict, controlling laws of Legalism are specially designed to keep the people in line. By stripping itself of nearly everything else, it emphasizes farming and fighting. Having come into the mainstream of Chinese society when the Qin dynasty took over, Legalism provides a very good medium to hold power over the people, and directly combat their initial Confucian beliefs. If Mohism is one or two steps away from Confucianism, Legalism is the exact opposite, sharing some Mohist policies, but ultimately taking up an even more extremist vision.