Debate: Governing the country by virtue is more important than ruling the country by law

Governing the country according to law needs to be based on the rule of ethics. This is first of all because morality is the basis of legislation, important and basic moral norms are one of the main standards of legal norms, advanced moral norms are one of the main value goals of legal norms, and good moral norms are one of the main criteria for evaluating the good and evil of legal norms. Secondly, because morality is the basis of law enforcement, legal norms inevitably have a certain degree of ambiguity, and whether they can fairly and accurately grasp the purpose of legislation depends on the quality of law enforcers; The law enforcer inevitably has a certain amount of discretion, and the proper use of this power depends on the quality of the law enforcer; Law enforcers inevitably have the right to admissibility of evidence, and whether this power can be properly used depends on the quality of the law enforcers.

Again, because morality is the basis of law-abiding. Most people's identification and belief in the law is the basis for the existence of the law; Rights are the core of modern rule of law, and how to realize legal rights depends on citizens' consciousness and voluntary awareness. The sense of obligation that corresponds to the awareness of rights is also linked to the consciousness and voluntary consciousness of citizens. (2) Governing the country by virtue needs to be supplemented and guaranteed by governing the country according to law.

Governing the country by virtue focuses on correcting people's civilized behavior by improving people's inner consciousness and building people's motivation civilization; The rule of law focuses on discovering people's inner civilization by restraining people's external behavior and building people's behavior civilization. Governing the country with virtue focuses on building individual civilization, and promotes the improvement of the civilization level of socialist groups through the power of example; Governing the country according to law focuses on building group civilization, and through the improvement of group civilization, it prevents and deters individual deviant behavior. Governing the country by virtue focuses on emphasizing people's sense of obligation and responsibility, and governing the country according to law focuses on safeguarding people's rights and emphasizing people's awareness of rights, and the two complement each other.

Let me begin by saying that neither morality nor law can replace each other. It is only said that morality is more important than law, because there are moral norms first, and then there are legal norms, and the former is the main source of the latter, so morality is the foundation and law is the end. The main role of morality is to educate, and the main role of law is to punish.

People with high morals are ashamed to break the law and commit crimes, while people with bad morals are very likely to go to crime. Law is a necessary complement to morality because law has a coercive effect, that is, we need the coercive means of law only when morality loses its normative role. Law is the last and most effective way to manage society.

A society governed primarily by morality is a civilized and peaceful society, and a society governed primarily by law is a decadent and violent society.

Why is it more important to rule the country by virtue than to rule the country by law?

For many years, we have been mentioning the rule of law and the establishment of a socialist country with a legal system because we feel that the developed countries are practicing the rule of law, and the reason why the developed countries are developed is because their legal systems are relatively perfect, and this is a big misunderstanding. I do not mean that the law is not important and that the rule of law should not be practiced, but that the rule of ethics should not be set aside for the sake of establishing a rule of law. Whether a country can develop or not depends not on how many laws are enacted, but on the moral level of its citizens.

Because of a simple truth, "the law depends on officials to do it", if our judges' professional ability is good, but their moral level is not high, in other words, their selfishness is serious, then the result of the implementation of the law can be imagined, and equality before the law can only be an empty word, which explains why today, when the law is becoming more and more sound, there are more and more unjust, false and wrongly decided cases. Looking back on the 5,000-year history of our country, the most prosperous was the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty was also the heyday of Confucianism (Confucianism). Confucianism has influenced many surrounding countries, and the cultural heritage of the Chinese nation lies in this.

Now, however, we are in danger of being assimilated by the developed countries of the West, and some of our traditional moral concepts (values) have been challenged. We are far inferior to our neighbors Japan and South Korea in the inheritance of Confucianism, and the two countries are inseparable from the country's admiration for Confucianism. Marxism-Leninism cannot rejuvenate China, and blindly learning from the West will lead to the loss of ourselves, and only by carrying forward Confucianism and practicing the rule of virtue with Confucianism as the core can the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation be realized.

Governing the country according to law is the most fundamental strategy for governing the country. Governing the country with ethics is a higher requirement for people's ideology and morality on the basis of governing the country according to law. In the field of democratic political construction, the criterion that regulates people's actions is first and foremost the law.

In the event of a conflict between moral standards and legal standards, or in the event of a conflict between personal authority and legal authority, the legal stance should ultimately be adhered to and acted in accordance with the law.

Governing the country by virtue and governing the country according to law belong to different categories. The socialist rule of law is consistent with the essence of morality, arises from the same economic base, and is an important part of the superstructure. But the two fall into different categories:

The rule of law belongs to political construction and political civilization; The rule of virtue belongs to ideological construction and spiritual civilization.

Governing the country by virtue and governing the country according to law promote each other. Law is an important carrier of morality, and the full realization of the basic strategy of governing the country according to law is conducive to the implementation of socialist morality and the improvement of citizens' moral level. The implementation of governing the country with ethics and the general improvement of the level of socialist morality will inevitably promote the effective realization of the socialist rule of law.

The significance of governing the country according to law:

1. Governing the country according to law is a major change in the way the Communist Party of China governs, which is conducive to strengthening and improving the party's leadership;

2. Governing the country according to law is the fundamental guarantee for developing socialist democracy and realizing that the people are the masters of the country;

3. Governing the country according to law is an objective requirement for developing the socialist market economy and expanding opening up to the outside world;

4. Governing the country according to law is a significant symbol of social civilization and progress, and an important guarantee for the country's long-term peace and stability;

5. Governing the country according to law is an inevitable requirement of democratic politics and a basic symbol of modern political civilization;

6. Governing the country according to law is an important condition for building a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics.

Of course, the rule of law is more appropriate. However, we must pay attention to whether the law of "governing the country according to law" is the law of the Legalists or the law of the law; If it is the former, then it is better to "rule the country by virtue".

We all know that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the countries were in endless disputes, and the Central Plains fell into the beacon fire and wolf smoke that moved people for many years; In these troubled times, the intellectual world has also ushered in an unprecedented prosperity, and countless thinkers and schools have risen one after another, making the sky of history shine. This movement is known as "a hundred schools of thought".

In the end, the two major scholars who stood out in this competition were undoubtedly Confucianism and Legalism. For thousands of years, although China has always pursued Confucian politics on the surface, in fact, it is "Confucianism and law", using the spiritual core of Legalism to manage the people. Therefore, China's famous founding great man once said such a sentence, called "Qin politics for a hundred generations".

At the same time, the struggle between Confucianism and Legalism is also all-encompassing. Whether it is the confrontation between the theory of sexual evil and the theory of sexual good; The debate on "governing the country by virtue" and "governing the country according to law" has always been uninterrupted in history. If we look at it from a modern perspective, is it better to govern the country by virtue or by law?

Of course, it is the rule of law. After all, no matter how perfect the design of the system of "governing the country by virtue" is, in the final analysis, it is still just "rule by man." If it is a human being, it has a natural flaw. However, the law of "governing the country according to law" should refer to the law in the modern context, not to the "legalist".

What is the Dharma of Legalism? A means of "strengthening the country with a weak people", following the principle of "tired people, humiliating the people, tired people, weak people, and foolish people". In Shang Ying's words, that is, to use the law, the suppressed people can't raise their heads, let them eat the last meal but not the next meal, so that they can work hard;

Such "ruling the country according to law" is better than "ruling the country by virtue." After all, those Legalists and cool officials in history have never followed any "rule of law", but only a more cruel "rule of man".

The rule of law is, of course, the rule of law. After all, no matter how perfect the design of the system of "governing the country by virtue" is, in the final analysis, it is still just "rule by man." If it is a human being, it has a natural flaw. However, the law of "governing the country according to law" should refer to the law in the modern context, not to the "legalist".

Governing the country according to law, under the condition that the level of economic development has not reached a certain level, the restraint of morality is far less powerful than the majesty of the law.

Now it is more advocated to govern the country according to the law, because the law is the bottom line that restricts people's behavior, has a mandatory binding force, everyone is equal before the law, is clear and unified, and morality is sometimes unclear, there are different positions, and the governance of the country should be based on the rule of law.

Just looking at the title, I personally think: it is better to govern the country by virtue than to govern the country according to law. Rationale:

1.Governing the country by virtue already contains law, otherwise it cannot be called virtue. 2.

The so-called rule of law is almost a slogan in a certain time and space; Not to mention that the Dharma itself is in step with the times.

The relationship between the two is as follows:1. For the governance of a country, the rule of law and the rule of ethics have always complemented and promoted each other. Rent excited.

2. From the perspective of the fields to which the rule of law and the rule of ethics belong, they are both part of the superstructure and are important means to maintain social order and regulate people's thoughts and behaviors.

3. From a practical point of view, only by doing a good job in both aspects of the socks and making them closely cooperate in the actual life of the training and socks, can we ensure the good order of the society and the long-term peace and stability of the country.