순자』의 직업사상

Abstract

Xunzi advocates a pragmatic philosophy that utilizes and manages national resources through a sensible analysis of reality. This is a significant contrast with Mencius who is a proponent of moral politics based on inherent moral virtues of humanity. Xunzi’s philosophy emphasizes the establishment of harmonious order in social realms including economy, politics, social welfare, and culture, rather than focusing on the ethical values. If the ideas of Mencius can be considered ideal, Xunzi’s thoughts are more realistic and pragmatic. While Confucius and Mencius emphasized morals and loyalty denying human desire and profit, Xunzi discusses desire and pursuit of profit positively and earnestly based on his insight that those are natural human dispositions. Thus, he claims that moderate and balanced pursuit of desire nurtures individuals’ lives and keeps the world in peaceful order. Xunzi believes that unlimited and immoderate pursuit of desire and profit makes individuals unhappy and causes social chaos in which its members are at constant conflict stealing from each other. Thus, he emphasizes that one must be temperate and reasonable in pursuing one’s desire and profit so that the harmonious whole, as well as the individuals’ happiness, could be sustained. Xunzi’s philosophy is fundamentally different from Mo-tzu’s, which advocates prudence to an extent that one severs oneself from the sources of production. Xunzi claims that one could satisfy one’s desire through human effort: work. Xunzi emphasizes work because the production of commodities is essential in satisfying human desire and labor is indispensable in producing commodities. Since one could not perform all kinds of work involved in producing commodities, Xunzi contends that labor should be distributed according to one’s disposition and capacity. Fair distribution of work is not only an effective way to increase the overall production of a society but also a crucial governing principle that sustains the order by preventing conflicts that arise from individuals’ preferences and dispositions. Regarding the logic of distribution of work, Sunzi argues that members of a society should be placed in different occupations by taking into consideration everyone’s character, competence, and virtue. When work is equitably distributed, individuals can successfully perform their work and lead a satisfying life through their earnings. Reasonable distribution of work signifies efficient national management of human resources that also maximizes the overall production of a society. Xunzi imagines an ideal harmonious society as one in which everyone’s occupation is fairly distributed according to an equitable classification of jobs, all members satisfy their desire by faithfully performing their roles, and the social order is maintained while maximizing the wealth of the whole.