Reconsidering the Confucian View of the Economy in the Age of the Anthropocene

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" Reconsidering the Confucian View of the Economy in the Age of the Anthropocene "
Jan Erik Christensen

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1086096
Doc. No	:	LA129725
Call No	:	‭10.1163/15685357-02302004‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Jan Erik Christensen
Title & Author	:	Reconsidering the Confucian View of the Economy in the Age of the Anthropocene [Article]\ Jan Erik Christensen
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology
Date	:	2019
Volume/ Issue Number	:	23/2
Page No	:	171–185
Abstract	:	The common practice of outsourcing manufacturing to countries in which factories’ production costs and environmental standards are far lower than in the West indicates an underlying issue: a refusal to take responsibility for the environment, in favor of economic profitability. In confronting this problem, I suggest the need to reflect on the idea of the ‘distinction between righteousness and profit’ that is emphasized in Confucianism. Through an analysis of primary texts, I explain how the Confucian emphasis on ecological harmony implies a need for economic development as well as individual wealth, as it views humans as part of nature with a need to thrive as moral beings. The Confucian view of the economy informs contemporary attitudes by offering a richer way of thinking about economic development. The common practice of outsourcing manufacturing to countries in which factories’ production costs and environmental standards are far lower than in the West indicates an underlying issue: a refusal to take responsibility for the environment, in favor of economic profitability. In confronting this problem, I suggest the need to reflect on the idea of the ‘distinction between righteousness and profit’ that is emphasized in Confucianism. Through an analysis of primary texts, I explain how the Confucian emphasis on ecological harmony implies a need for economic development as well as individual wealth, as it views humans as part of nature with a need to thrive as moral beings. The Confucian view of the economy informs contemporary attitudes by offering a richer way of thinking about economic development.
Descriptor	:	Chinese philosophy
Descriptor	:	climate change
Descriptor	:	Confucianism
Descriptor	:	ecology
Descriptor	:	economy
Descriptor	:	righteousness
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/15685357-02302004‬