How to Understand the Confucian View of Righteousness and Profit

The so-called "righteousness and profit" concept refers to people's views on how to deal with the relationship between ethics and material interests. The term "righteousness" in this context has two main meanings:

One is "justice," which refers to appropriate reasoning or behavior, and means that thoughts and actions conform to certain ethical standards;

The other is "righteousness," which refers to upholding justice and sympathizing with others. The second is "righteousness", i.e. the temperament to uphold justice, sympathize with the righteous actions of others, or be willing to take risks and make sacrifices on behalf of others. Profit" here refers to material and utilitarian interests, which involve the interests of the state, the collective, and the individual.

Note on the concept of righteousness and profit:

It is important to note that because traditional Confucianism has its own inherent class limitations, its thinking also carries a certain class coloring.

In contemporary society, the concept of righteousness and profit often manifests itself in the phenomenon of emphasizing righteousness over profit and profit over righteousness in business. A good concept of righteousness and profit is usually based on emphasizing righteousness over profit, creating value for the general masses of society and drawing less material wealth; while a distorted concept of righteousness and profit is specifically manifested in money worship, even neglecting morality and trampling on honesty and so on.

In the traditional Chinese virtues, the correct concept of righteousness and profitability occupies a high position, and it is the ultimate pursuit of doing business as a human being, which was respected by the ancient Chinese people.