A Study on the Economic Thoughts of Confucian
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Kim Tae-Myung 
Published: June 2018

The objective of this article is to grope for the framework and direction of useful and meaningful thoughts in the confusion of neo-liberalism in which texts of Analects of confucius and Mencius Xunzi, works of Pre-Qin Confucian scholars, will be analyzed and reinterpreted on economic thoughts from present point of view.
Followed by the introduction, concept and relationship of gain and rightousness recognized in Pre-Qin Confucian scholars are analyzed. The concept of benefit in Pre-Qin confucian scholars was classified into public one and private one. Private benefit which was regarded fundamental physical base recognized in necessity, but the unlimited pursuit of private benefit owing to human avarice should have been restricted because private benefit ran counter to the maintenance of harmonious social order.
As for production though the increase of production was considered important since it contributed to the increase of national finance and stability of the people's economic life, they passive in accumulation of wealth through the increase of production. This means that they deeply recognized the increase of production was physical base to the people's life and found that to make people wealthy was the basis to governing a country.
As with distribution, all of Pre-Qin Confucian scholars advocated uniform distribution. They insisted relative uniform distribution in proportion to order in social position since the relative poverty caused by the concentration of wealth on a small number of people might give rise to class conflict and national crisis.
For consumption, they demanded that production be increased and consumption be moderate. Confucius looked upon consumption life temperate in individual avarice and extravagance as practice of rightousness. Mencius placed the ideal concept of consumption on few wants and let the daily life as a consumer based on courtesy stop extravagance and waste of ruling class, and wanted to guarantee the people's basic consumption life. Xunzi's consumption viewpoint was rooted in thrift just like Confucius and Mencius.
To conclude, economic activities based on the economic thoughts of Pre-Qin Confucian scholars aimed at enhancing equal and sustainable quality of life of community members and placed ethical basis of activities on rightousness and solved preponderance of profits concentrated on minorities. Further they intended to settle the inequity and instability by making use of few wants and thrift.
The economic thoughts of Pre-Qin Confucian scholars are judged to suggest desirable directions in probing for new economic order in the following aspects.
First, the economic thoughts of Pre-Qin confucian scholars could adequately ensure people's living rights and provide mental basis of economic activities by rediscovering ethical values for sustainable community lives.
Second, they could present establishment of economic policies to seek equitable quality of lives by letting government's rational participation solved the concentration of wealth on minorities and by impartial redistribution of wealth.
Third, spirits of few wants and thrift could provide colossal framework to ecological and environment-friendly economic life in which they could interrupt waste of resources and environmental disruption brought about by unlimited consumption of today.