论孔子的富民思想

A Study of Confucius’Concept of Enriching the People

孔子生逢乱世,身世凄惨,对下层百姓的生活深表同情。他基于“仁”,将“患不均”和“实现大同”作为富民内容,认为各得其分是增加民众收入、缩小贫富差距的关键,天下为公让全社会的财富、权力共同享有。孔子提出一系列“富民”措施以期改善民众的生活状况,首先,他肯定每个人都有追求财富的权利,但要将公利放在首位;其次,他提出了“民富君足”论,民富是君足的基础,要重视民众的利益;最后,他认为统治者要做到节用而爱人,因民之所利而利之等。当民众富裕起来后就要实行教化,从而培养德才兼备的人来治理国家,造福百姓,促进社会发展。

Confucius was born in troubled times and had a miserable life.He expressed deep sympathy for the lives of the lower classes.Based on“benevolence”,he regarded“suffering from inequality”and“realizing great harmony”as the content of enriching the people,believing that the key to increasing people’s incomes and narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor is to have each person’s share,and that the world is a commonwealth,so that the wealth and the power of the whole society can be shared together.Confucius proposed a series of measures to improve the living conditions of the people.First of all,Confucius affirmed that everyone has the right to pursue wealth,but should put public interest in the first place;secondly,he put forward the theory of“the wealth of the people and the sufficiency of the ruler”,in which the wealth of the people was the basis of the sufficiency of the ruler,and the interests of the people should be taken seriously.Finally,he believed that rulers should be frugal but love people,and benefit the people because of their interests,etc.When the people became rich,they had to be indoctrinated,so as to cultivate people of both virtue and ability to govern the country,benefit the people and promote social development.