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• Confucius lived during a turning point in China's political history, at the end of the Spring and Autumn period
• The Spring and Autumn period saw a flowering of art, literature, and philosophy, giving rise to the "Hundred Schools of Thought"
• This new class of thinkers and scholars were appointed on merit rather than family connections, challenging the hereditary rulers
• This led to the Warring States period as various rulers vied for control over China
• Junzi


  The "gentleman" or "superior man" whose virtue would act as an example to others
• Reciprocity


  The idea that just and generous treatment will be met with a just and generous response
• Confucius advised: "If your desire is for good, the people will be good"
• The five "constant relationships" in Confucian thought

  • Sovereign/subject
  • Father/son
  • Husband/wife
  • Elder brother/younger brother
  • Friend/friend
• Paterfamilias


  The sovereign as the "father figure" of the state
• Confucius advocated a class of scholar-officials to act as ministers, advisors, and administrators to the ruler
• Junzi


  These scholar-officials were expected to be of the highest moral character
• The role of these scholar-officials was to advise the ruler and prevent despotism, while also inspiring the sovereign and subjects by their virtue
• Confucianism emphasised the importance of ritual and etiquette in governing society
• In the late 6th century BCE, China was reaching the end of an era of peaceful prosperity—the so-called Spring and Autumn period—in which philosophers had flourished
• Much of the thinking had focused on moral philosophy or ethics, and the political philosophy that followed from this concentrated on the morally correct way that the state should organize its internal affairs
• Toward the end of the Spring and Autumn period, the political stability of the various states of China became fragile, and tensions between them increased as the population grew
• Rulers of the states not only had to manage their internal affairs, but also to defend themselves against attack from neighboring states
• The Art of War


  A treatise that focuses on international politics, discussing public administration only in connection with the business of planning and waging wars, or the economics of maintaining military and intelligence services
• Principles of war to be considered when planning a campaign

  • Weather and terrain
  • Moral influence of the ruler
  • Ability and qualities of the general
  • Organization and discipline of the men
• The Art of War


  • Provides a framework for political organization of any sort
  • Implicit in the principles of war is a hierarchical structure with a sovereign at its head, taking advice from and giving commands to his generals, who lead and organize their troops
• Role of the sovereign

  To provide moral leadership. The people must be convinced that their cause is just before they will give their support, and a ruler should lead by example
• Role of the general

  • Acts as both advisor to the ruler and administrator of his commands
  • His training and experience inform the counsel he gives the sovereign, effectively determining policy
  • Vital to the organization of the army, controlling the logistics, and especially the training and discipline of the men
• Discipline in the army

  Should be rigorously enforced with harsh penalties for disobedience, but tempered by a consistent application of rewards and punishments
• Toward the end of the 6th century BCE, a cultural golden age began in Greece that was to last for 200 years
• The people of the city-state of Athens overthrew their tyrannical leader and instituted a form of democracy
• Democracy in Athens


  Government officials were chosen by a lottery from among the citizens, and decisions were taken by a democratic assembly where all citizens could speak and vote
• The "citizens" were a minority of the population - free men aged over 30 whose parents were Athenians. Women, slaves, children, younger men, and foreigners or first-generation settlers were excluded from the democratic process
• Socrates, an Athenian philosopher, gained a following of young disciples by questioning the generally accepted notions of justice and virtue
• Socrates was sentenced to death by the democratic assembly on charges of corrupting the young
• Plato, one of Socrates' young followers, became disillusioned with the Athenian political system after what he saw as the unfair treatment of his teacher
• Plato's view on existing forms of government

  He believed they all led the state into "evils"
• Plato's view on the role of rulers

  The role of rulers is to ensure the people follow the "good life"
• Plato's view on who should have political power

  Political power should only be given to philosophers, as only they have the ability and knowledge to know what the "good life" is
• Plato: 'Until philosophers are kings, cities will never have rest from their evils'
• Knowing what the "good life" is requires intellectual ability and knowledge of ethics and morality
• Ancient Greece was not a unified nation-state as we would recognize one today, but a collection of independent regional states with cities at their center
• Each city-state, or polis, had its own constitutional organization: some, such as Macedon, were ruled by a monarch, while others, most notably Athens, had a form of democracy in which at least some of the citizens could participate in their government
• Aristotle was well acquainted with the concept of the polis and its various interpretations
• Aristotle's analytical mind


  Made him well qualified to examine the merits of the city-state
• Aristotle's approach


  Knowledge was acquired through observation rather than intellectual reasoning