Why aren't conservatives/tradcons into Confucianism? - Small government, low taxes, respect for religion, pro-family--what's not to love?

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When you read about it, Confucianism is probably the most conservative political philosophy in existence. Confucianism promotes the family unit as the basis of the entire world, meaning it is pro-family and encourages respect for elders, awareness of one's ancestry and familial traditions. Confucian morality encourages women and children to know their place and not overstep their bounds. In fact, Confucianism encourages women to remain in the household, be good wives and mothers, practice feminine virtues, and never try and exercise political authority over men. Here's a 2,000 year old summary:

What are the Five Constant Virtues? They are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Benevolence means not being able to endure (seeing others suffer), loving others, and aiding all living things. Righteousness means doing what is proper. In making judgments one hits the mark. Propriety means to enact. That is, to realize the way and perfect the refined. Wisdom means knowledge. One has a special understanding and can know things before hearing about them. He is not befuddled by matters and can discern the subtle. Trustworthiness means sincerity. One cannot be deterred from his purpose.

In terms of government, Confucians believe the government's only job is cultivating morality and virtue in people. That means the government shouldn't raise taxes to make money or create monopolies. Merchants have to thrive on their own merits and skills meaning a free market. Confucians encourage local industry and craftsmanship over the products of big corporations and their merchants, which are deemed soulless and impersonable. Here is an interesting quote from the Discourses on Salt and Iron, a recorded debate over two thousand years ago between Confucians and big government advocates--this is the Confucians introducing their argument.

But now, with the system of the salt and iron monopolies, the liquor excise, and equable marketing, established in the provinces and the demesnes, the Government has entered into financial competition with the people, dissipating primordial candor and simplicity and sanctioning propensities to selfishness and greed. As a result few among our people take up the fundamental pursuits of life, while many flock to the non-essential. Now sturdy natural qualities decay as artificiality thrives, and rural values decline when industrialism flourishes. When industrialism is cultivated, the people become frivolous; when the values of rural life are developed, the people are simple and unsophisticated. The people being unsophisticated, wealth will abound; when the people are extravagant, cold and hunger will follow. We pray that the salt, iron and liquor monopolies and the system of equable marketing be abolished so that the rural pursuits may be encouraged, people be deterred from entering the secondary occupations, and national agriculture be materially and financially benefited.

Confucianism also demands the government be full of virtuous people who obtained their positions through skill and not by nature of their birth. In old times this meant no nobility and in modern times this means no affirmative action. Politicians are supposed to be proper, virtuous men who cultivate virtue in their subjects. The central government is to set up systems to find and promote these politicians who govern on a local or regional level--the central government plays little role in governing the people's daily lives.

Needless to say, this sounds incredibly conservative, and the only reason it wasn't put into practice was the existence of other Chinese philosophies, foreign religions like Buddhism, and today Western philosophies like liberalism and communism. Why aren't more conservatives and traditionalists in the West advocating we adopt Confucian morality as guiding principles for the government and society?

 

[Oxyjen]

Why aren't more conservatives and traditionalists in the West advocating we adopt Confucian morality as guiding principles for the government and society?

They’d have to have heard of it? Also western conservatives, om average, aren’t all that big on morality and temperance.

 

[Shig O'nella]

Why you pushing this chink shit?

That's not my question, it is your answer.

 

[OrangeJuliusEvola]

Because Western Conservatives aren't East Asian. Confucianism has shaped East Asian culture, it's intertwined with the peoples there and can't easily be extracted from the intertwined cultural aspects. It also doesn't stand by itself well. In every country it thrived in, it also had more religious faiths to bolster metaphysical aspects it lacked. That's not really going to work well with the Abrahamic religions of the West which are fairly exclusive.

There's also the fact that the largest group advocating it in European languages are closely linked the to the government of the People's Republic of China.

 

[Breadbassket]

It seems grand in theory but can have issues in practice due to human behavior. While China has major influences from Confucianism still alive and well within it as a culture, it is not exactly something that is new and unproven.

Too much obsession with filial piety? In the worst case scenario this can become a slave mentality to your elders and crush individualism for better and for worse.

Government full of virtuous people? The Chinese state broke apart and reformed many, many times over the years and had their share of tyrants despite often times proclaiming itself to be Confucian.

Low taxes? On paper sure but good luck trusting with whatever ruler or national leader you have to do something like that.

 

[Grog]

Because neither conservatives nor libs know what that is, and the entire point of the e-christian tradlarp is pissing off the libs.

 

[VargReallyDidNothingWrong]

Why would western conservatives go all in on some chink cultural shit that has nothing to do with them or their history?

Conservatives are about upholding traditions, not flitting between philosophies and religions to find the one that they think sounds coolest

 

[Blasterisk]

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The answer is simple: I want a live Savior, not a dead Chinese guy.

 

[Unamused Bounty Hunter]

People tend to stick with things they identify with and have a history with. The West has for a long time been on the Christian train and has it culture and history shaped by it and can still be felt today... it's what they know and what they continue to view the world through despite the apparent drop in religiosity. It's hard for someone to adopt the foreign ideas of a foreign world, a world they have no connection to or a history to, when your home and people do it another way and it's particularly hard not to conform to them. It's why emigrant Chinks tend to maintain their customs and beliefs despite living in the West, it's why Arabs tend to remain Islamic despite moving to the land of Christ, etc. Confucianism is too foreign to the Westerner's identity and way of life and why Conservatism will still stick with their Christ on a cross for time immemorial.

 

[Geddy Lee's Fee and See]

The answer is simple: I want a live Savior, not a dead Chinese guy.

Confucius is just Chinese Aristotle. He's not a replacement for Jesus Christ unless you are a fedora-tipper to the max. Even the Chinese don't deify him.

I feel like a lot of people in this thread not only don't understand what Confucianism is, but can't even bother to give a cursory glance at the Wikipedia page before coming up with their opinion. Some people bring up good points about it being an ideology most people in Western societies are used to its current promotion by the CCP and the fact that it still would fail just like Christian conservatism is now, but then others bring up retarded points about how it's foreign therefore bad, even though the vast majority of Confucianism (just like the vast majority of Aristotle's pagan philosophy) is fundamentally compatible with a Christian worldview. Even then, Aristotle's philosophy was reconciled with Christianity in the Scholastic Era, so I don't see why any philosophy that promotes religiosity, humanism and preserving society can't have the same treatment. It's not like the modern philosophies of neoliberalism, progressivism, tepid conservatism or consumerism are creating stabke well adjusted people within stable well adjusted homes in a stable well adjusted village/town/city ruled by a stable well adjusted government.

 

[Stan]

*racist chinese music*
That’s why.

 

[Male Idiot]

Conservatives are the cucked useful controlled opposition lite-right.

You are either a nationalist or a stooge.

 

[TheDarknessGrows]

I mean it is alright and has some good ideas and sayings.

But whatever.

 

[Linako 2.0]

Because that would require reading and learning about different cultures, and that's too much work.
plus it's Made in China, could be a way to create a chink puppet state.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

others bring up retarded points about how it's foreign therefore bad

it's foreign therefore bad

 

[Skitarii]

Confucians care too much about social status and where they stand in relation to others. It's a woman's ideology

 

[raspberry mocha]

Because they're not Asian and Confucianism is statist and non-individualist. A better question might why aren't Asian tradcons (if they exist) into Confucianism.

 

[Buttigieg2020]

It’s redundant. An ideology that dictates the roles of people in society and the nature of morality already exists as Christianity in the west.
It won’t work in post-Christian societies either, because subservience to the patriarch of the family is discouraged.

 

[AnsemSoD1]

CHINA NUMBUH ONE

 

[Kankichi Ryotsu]

Why would western conservatives go all in on some chink cultural shit that has nothing to do with them or their history?

Conservatives are about upholding traditions, not flitting between philosophies and religions to find the one that they think sounds coolest

Conservatives aren't about upholding traditions, they're about upholding the policies of the left once they get into power because they're too scared of being called fascist.