Confucianism and System Justification Motivation in China: A Literature Review

Despite the constant criticism from the West on the Chinese government’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic, abuses of human rights, and its authoritarian rules in general, a recent survey revealed that 95% of Chinese showed great trust in the central government (Edelman, 2020). The survey results can be interpreted as mass conformity toward the authoritarian rules due to fears of repercussion. However, more and more evidence suggests that many may indeed support the Chinese government wholeheartedly. In a 2016 study, it was found that Mainland Chinese who immigrated to Hong Kong were still more likely to support the local and central governments than locals, although they had moved to a place where political rules were largely loosened (Wong et al., 2016). In fact, the tendency for immigrants from repressive regimes to support the current status quo and conservative parties were found among other racial groups as well (Bilodeau, 2008; Wilson, 2016; The Mercator Institute for China Studies, 2020).

Social scientists who studied Soviet Union were haunted by the question of “why did Soviet people not resist?”(Rovestava, 2017). When scholars construct their understanding of authoritarian countries through the belief that authoritarian rules are innately evil, and thus should be opposed without a doubt by educated people, their analyses can fall into the trap of thinking citizens who support the system are either ignorant and ill-informed, or malicious and manipulative (Rovestava, 2017). I see the same pattern in the analyses of China: there lacks a variety of perspectives in understanding Chinese citizens attitudes toward the central government. Supporters of the system are either brainwashed or beneficiaries of the system. In this paper, we will explore the possibility that citizens under authoritarian rules can support the system willingly and knowingly. Building on recent findings on system justification theory, this paper proposes that Confucianism has been used by the Chinese government to amplify system justification motivation among its citizens to create a highly nationalistic environment within the country.

System Justification Theory

System justification motivation was proposed by Jost et al. (2004) as a new motivational factor behind political judgments. It was argued that other than maintaining positive self and group images, most people also have the tendency to defend, bolster and justify the current status quo and social systems, sometimes even at the expense of their self-interests (Jost et al., 2004). According to system justification theory, the desire to defend the system arises from three primary sources: existential needs, epistemic needs and relational needs. Most human beings tend to avoid ambiguous and threatening situations, but strive for positive social relationships (Jost et al., 2004). Thus, social systems become important to modern citizens, as they provide people with stability, certainty and channels to communicate with each other. In this paper, we will use system justification theory as the framework to understand Chinese citizens political attitudes toward the Chinese government.

Confucianism: Hierarchy, Meritocracy & Harmony

Confucianism was born at a time of wars in 770 BC. It survived multiple alternations of dynasties and passed onto modern China. Confucianism is recognized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the official philosophy of China, and appears constantly in government officials’ speeches, state propaganda as well as other media outlets (Cui, 2014). Although sometimes being categorized as a religion, Confucianism works more like a philosophy that promotes ethical principles and regulates social behaviors in the Chinese society (Lu & Gao, 2018).

Hierarchy

Confucianism evolves its philosophical system around the central argument of “Three Principles and Five Virtues” (Dong, 104BCE). Three Principles are a set of rationalizations about the social hierarchies. It says that it is only natural and moral for the ruled to obey the ruler; the son to obey the father; and the wife to obey the husband. Confucianism considered strict hierarchies as a necessity for a society to achieve its ideal state. Thus, Confucianism in its core is a system justifying ideology that supports the high powers and status quo. Merely promoting Confucianism on its face value can promote system justification tendency. Indeed, in a study conducted by Sheng (2005), it was found that the more Chinese citizens were exposed to Confucius content, the more likely there were to support the current status quo.

Meritocracy

If there is a hierarchy, there also has to be a system that ranks people. Confucianism believes that within the limits of the Three Principles, people should be ranked by their merits. The most virtuous and competent people can be elected to serve the public (Renming, 2018). Endorsement of meritocracy is a typical justifying belief (Tan et al., 2017). In a study, five hundred Chinese college students answered questionnaires about their belief in meritocracy and corruption. It was found that people with higher meritocratic ideology were more likely to accept the current status quo, and perceive corruption as common and acceptable (Tan et al., 2017). Thus, it illustrated that the beliefs of meritocracy ideology is associated positively with system justification motivation.

Harmony

Another belief that contributes greatly to Confucianism’s understanding of social relationships is harmony. Confucianism believes that achieving harmony among citizens, individuals and their families, families and the nation is the ultimate goal of governing (Zhu, 2016). Individuals are not seen as individuals with unique beliefs, but rather building blocks in one’s family, community and the nation. Group goals and interests are prioritized over personal needs and beliefs, because personal success is seen as heavily dependent on the well-being of the nation (Zhu, 2016). Thus, the individuality of personal identities is largely dismissed. Instead, people’s beliefs, actions, and personal identities should be made to align with the group’s.

The reason why the promotion of harmony can lead to higher system justification motivation stems from its implication for personal and group relationships. System justification theories state that the need for social relationships is one of the factors that drives system justification motivation. According to the Need to Share Reality Scale (Stern et al., 2012), relational needs are measured by the preference to understand the world the same way as other people do. Since Confucianism’s harmony emphasizes unanimous beliefs and common goals, it follows that believing in Confucianism may be associated positively with stronger preference to synarchic thinking and actions with other members of the Chinese society, and thus also leads to higher system justification motivation.

Confucianism’s strong focus on harmony leads to its strong opposition to anyone who disrupts the harmony. Confucianism is generally against the war. However, exceptions are given to wars that were fought to counter disruptions of harmony (Sheng, 2005). The Chinese government asserts its legitimacy based on the narrative that it leads the Chinese people to fight against western powers who “possessed superior military strength and posed an unprecedented threat to Chinese culture” (Zhimin, 2005). This narrative is circulated through media channels as well as textbooks that are taught mandatorily to all Chinese students (Onsman & Cameron, 2014). Onsman & Cameron (2014) found that although democratic values were sometimes discussed in the classroom, they were often framed in a way that fits the Confucianism ideology.

The East versus the West perspective instilled fears and hostilities into the public. This narrative makes the Chinese general public feel the constant need to watch out for possible sabotage from the West (Zhu, 2016). System justification theory predicts that system justification motivation will be activated when people perceive threats toward their nation (Toorn et al., 2017). Thus, the Chinese government’s deployment of Confucianism’s harmony in framing a hostile West and East relationship should lead to higher system justification motivation. It also explains why criticisms against the Chinese government from the West are sometimes rejected by the Chinese general public. When people believe firmly in restoring harmony in China, any challenging opinions and criticisms from the outside may be perceived as threats, and thus leads to the activation of system justification motivation. Furthermore, the framing of lasting foreign threats also taps into existential needs, which will further push people to the system in search of protection (Rama, 2016).

Nationalism & System Justification Motivation

Nationalism, as defined by Kosterman & Feshbach (1989), is “a perception of national superiority and an orientation toward national dominance”. Putting this definition more specifically, nationalism is an ideology that is characterized by strong identification with a particular country’s social and cultural practices, and believing in the importance of maintaining them. The positive association between system justification motivation and nationalism has been explored by several studies. It was found that the activation of system justification motivation through system threats predicted higher national attachments among liberals (Toorn et al., 2014). It was also found that nationalistic attitudes among Chinese internet users (Hyun & Kim, 2015) and the general public (Pan & Xu, 2018) associated positively with their system justification motivations. These findings supported system justification theory’s statement that system justification motivation takes on the form of nationalism when people apply justifying beliefs to the government (Toorn et al., 2014).

Conclusion

This paper aims to explore the possibility that some Chinese may support authoritarian rules willingly and knowingly. There is a lack of understanding in the system-supporting behaviors in authoritarian regimes in general (Lu& Gao, 2018; Pan & Xu, 2018). System justification theory provides us with a useful framework to examine people’s tendency to defend the system through understanding their existential, epistemic and relational needs. This paper examined the traditional philosophy that has been promoted by the Chinese government, Confucianism, through the perspective of system justification theory. It was found that many of the elements in Confucianism are likely to contribute to higher system justification motivation. Justification of hierarchy and meritocracy links directly to system justification motivation because they are two justifying beliefs. Confucianism’s emphasis on harmony taps into relational needs and promotes unanimous understandings of social relationships. This emphasis further activates system justification motivation through the Chinese government’s framing of the hostile relationship between China and the west.

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