Who are the figures who promoted the progress of the rule of law in world history?

1 shangyang

Specifically, Shang Yang's legal thought can be summarized as the following aspects:

First, the idea of governing the country according to law. This is the most fundamental legal thought of Shang Yang, and it is also the basis on which other legal thoughts of Shang Yang live. As a representative of the early legalists, Shang Yang undertook the mission of opposing "rule by courtesy", "rule by virtue" and "rule by man" and spared no effort to demonstrate the rationality of governing the country according to law. His theoretical logic is probably as follows: first, he believes that everyone has "goodness"

The essence of "pursuing advantages and avoiding disadvantages" or "pursuing advantages and avoiding disadvantages" is the theoretical basis of the rule of law. "There are likes and dislikes in life, and people can cure them" [1]. It is precisely because "people like to reward and punish, but they hate punishment" that they can only rule by legal means of reward and punishment, but not by virtue. Legalists' theory of human nature is the product of the development of private ownership and commodity economy at that time, and it is the reflection of the equal exchange of goods on human rights and obligations. Legalists use this theory of human nature to deny the patriarchal clan system and Confucian "rule by courtesy", "rule by virtue" and "rule by man", which provides a basis for the necessity of implementing the rule of law. [2] At the same time, Shang Yang emphasized his opposition to retro conservatism, arguing that "it is illegal to learn from the past but not from now on", "three generations of kings have different rituals, and five tyrants have different laws" [3] and "it is not necessary to learn from the past to govern the world" [4]. The reason why he emphasized this point was to explain theoretically that even Fuxi, Shennong and the emperor made laws at that time, and formulated ceremonies according to events. Therefore, "benevolence and righteousness serve the present" and "ancient and modern customs are different, so new things are different." If you want to use people in a political emergency, you still have no choice but to conquer Hummer. This is unwise, unwise. "In short, today's society can only use the rule of law characterized by strength. [5] Thus, Shang Yang demonstrated the necessity of promoting the rule of law.

With the support of Qin Xiaogong, Shang Yang's thought of governing the country according to law was put into practice in the political reform. The author thinks that Zhang Taiyan's words can be used to sum up that "the fundamental reason is to cage five senses and stop its constitutionality" [6].

Second, the idea of heavy punishment and heavy law. Or "severe punishment doctrine" is an important legal thought of Shang Yang. This can be verified in many aspects: "If you don't sue, you will be beheaded", "If you exceed six feet, you will be punished", and "No rape is better than severe punishment". Shang Yang's thought of severe punishment is famous, so why did he choose a completely different road from the traditional thought of wisdom and prudence? The author believes that this is related to Shang Yang's ruling strategy, rather than the backwardness and cruelty of his thoughts. Shang Yang designed the road of "autonomy" for the subjects of Qin, that is, the road of actively choosing advantages and avoiding disadvantages, while he designed the "prohibition" law of rewarding and guiding the country and using punishment to supervise it. There is only one way to unify the two, that is, to let the rewards be enough for the people to choose without seeking other interests; Make the punishment enough to prohibit and the people can't avoid its harm, so as to realize the goal pursued by the rule of law. Of course, between heavy reward and heavy punishment, although Shang Yang also attaches importance to heavy reward, such as "traitors and beheading enemies enjoy the same reward" [10], there is no doubt that he attaches more importance to heavy punishment. Shang Yang believes that "the benefit of the world is greater than the rule, and the rule of Mokang lies in the establishment of a monarch. The way to establish a monarch is not wider than winning the law, and there is no hurry to rape when winning the law. The root of rape is deeper than severe punishment. The ancient king rewarded the ban, persuaded him with punishment, sought goodness, and punished him with punishment. " He made clear the meaning of severe punishment, that is, to "rape" and "punish punishment with punishment". It can be seen that Shang Yang's theory of severe punishment is the theory of prevention.

Third, there is no hierarchical concept of punishment, or the concept of legal equality and equality before the law. Pre-Qin legalists generally emphasized the equality of law, and Shang Yang was the most determined. He claimed that "a saint is also a country, a reward, a punishment, and a teaching; There are invincible rewards, punishments and orders, and teaching and obedience. " One kind of punishment is the idea that punishment has no hierarchy. This point is more clearly reflected in "General Qing Xiang and even Dr. Shu Ren disobeyed the king's orders, violated the state ban and committed unforgivable crimes": the implementation of the law is not irrelevant because of the difference in birth and status, and the law cannot be subordinate to the powerful at all. This negates the tradition that "punishment is not a doctor".

Why did Shang Yang insist on "no high or low punishment"? I think there are two reasons. First, it is obvious that this is the need to abolish the aristocratic privilege of slave owners, which reflects the strong desire of the emerging landlord class to redistribute rights and establish a new legal order. In fact, the most opposed are slave owners and nobles. "In the ten years of Shang Dynasty, Qin Dynasty, the imperial clan nobles had many grievances"; Second, it should be the need for Shang Yang to establish legal prestige. At the beginning of the political reform, the law could not be immediately believed by the people, and Shang Yang also attached great importance to this point. Since then, the famous "reward for moving wood" is precisely to win the trust of the people. At this time, if the law can no longer treat people equally, it is almost impossible to implement the law. It is for this reason that Shang Yang said, "One word is enough".

These are the three most important and far-reaching legal thoughts of Shang Yang. Of course, his legal thoughts go far beyond these, and he thinks that the law must be "distributed to the people" in view of the thought of "the punishment is unknowable and the power is unpredictable" in the previous dynasty. Laws and regulations must be unified, stable and without retrospective effect: "the law is as strong as before", "if the punishment is wrong, the people will not persuade it, although they will be rewarded; Although killing people is complicated, the people are not afraid. " Determining birthright, preventing competition and maintaining hierarchy are also Shang Yang's legal thoughts. "The uncertainty of the law is as follows, the so-called uncertainty of birthright."

2 Han Feizi

I) Ontology field-the relationship between the inaction of Tao and the inaction of Tao in a country ruled by law.

Han Fei believes that the rule of law conforms to the principle of inaction of Tao and is the concrete embodiment of "body Tao". Han Fei is the noumenon of Taoism. It is believed that Tao is the noumenon of the universe and the origin of all things. In this regard, he said: "Tao, everything is done." He also said that Tao is an "invisible, image-less" existence, and it has become the general source of all things in the universe because Tao is empty, static and inaction, which allows nature to do everything. If people want to succeed, they must imitate the emptiness of Tao. This is the "body path". "Body Tao" is the foundation of people and action. For the monarch, the best way to "cultivate" is to govern by doing nothing. The specific method is: get rid of likes and dislikes and let nature take its course. "Happiness is eventful; If you are evil, you will complain more. Therefore, I am willing to go to evil, and I humbly think that I am a Taoist. " Han Fei warned the monarch that governing the country should be quiet and indifferent, and there should be no likes and dislikes. So how to do it? That is: the rule of law.

(2) the field of human nature-the necessity of the rule of law derived from human temperament and "karma".

From the perspective of human nature, Han Fei believes that the rule of law by the monarch is the expression of "karma". According to Han Fei's thought, everything in the world is born of Tao, and the inherent stipulation (virtue) obtained by Tao is embodied in the external attribute as "reason". The principle of "body way" requires people to act according to the nature of things when they treat everything. The monarch's rule over the world must follow the true nature and facts of human nature. He said: "whoever rules the world will be dominated by human feelings." In his view, human nature is lazy and selfish. On this basis, if we follow the rule of law, we can avoid crime and put an end to chaos. Moreover, the rule of law caters to the profit-seeking nature of human nature, that is, "people in Amway will do it and those who harm others will go." The rule of law is the concrete expression of "body way" and "reason" in the political field.

(3) Value field-the functionality and efficiency of law expand the rationality of the rule of law.

Han Fei pointed out that legalists advocate magic, not for good law, but for governing the country. Implementing the rule of law may be a temporary pain, but it is a long-term benefit; If you practice benevolent government, you will have endless troubles if you are happy. The monarch adopted the rule of law not out of cruelty, but out of long-term consideration. The monarch's rule of law should be based on the rationality of the rule of law, and relying on the rule of law to govern the country can get twice the result with half the effort.

(4) Historical field-the changes of the times and the weakness of morality have confirmed the superiority of the rule of law.

On the issue of "ruling the country by virtue" and "ruling the country by law", Han Fei refuted the legend that ancient sages ruled the country by virtue and made the country rich and strong, saying that the social conditions between ancient and modern times were very different. In ancient times, there were many resources and a small population, so people did not dispute that life was effortless and there was enough information. Now the population is increasing, which leads to the shortage of materials and fierce disputes. With the development of the times, the social environment and material conditions have also changed, and the policy of governing the country has also changed. If we deal with new problems in the old way, we will be helpless. We should study new methods and countermeasures in light of new situations and problems. This is what he said: "ancient and modern customs are different, and new ideas are different." "The world is different, things are human beings" and "things are human beings, ready to change". Han Fei, who has an extraordinary spirit of realism, does not stick to the rules, but emphasizes the changes of the times and history and demands that the new ruling policy be constantly changed and adjusted according to the times. This is the principle of "queen first" followed by legalists. Han Fei's principle of "the law of the queen" is the inevitable result of his theory of social change and the theoretical basis of his policy of governing the country. Moral means may be suitable for ancient times, but not for today. Nowadays, the rule of law is superior to the rule of virtue.

In a word, in order to prove his thought of rule of law, Han Fei made many arguments, involving ontology philosophy, human philosophy, historical philosophy and moral philosophy. During the argumentation, Han Fei strengthened his idea of governing the country, and his confidence in the rule of law established his position in the history of China's thoughts. Become a master of legalism.

Montesquieu's legal spirit is the most powerful.

The legal system, political freedom and separation of powers advocated by this book are powerful attacks on theology and feudal autocracy, and have since become the political program of bourgeois revolution. In particular, Montessori's theory of separation of powers and checks and balances, which was formally put forward for the first time, has had a direct and far-reaching impact on the political practice and political thought of the bourgeoisie since modern times. After the practice of bourgeois revolution in France and the United States, it has become the organizational principle of building a democratic system and political power system in bourgeois countries. Montessori's concern is not the specific legal norms themselves, but the spirit of the law, that is, the law conforms to the inevitability and regularity of human reason. Therefore, Montessori put the law in a decisive position, thinking that only the law can guarantee people's freedom rights, and autocracy is a contempt for human nature and a trampling on freedom. He further explored the institutional conditions on which freedom depends, and found the basic means to restore freedom-separation of the three powers, restricting power with power and preventing abuse of power. A political system that advocates the separation of powers and checks and balances under the constitutional order. The combination of law, freedom and constitution laid the basic framework of constitutional theory, which is also the most outstanding contribution of Meng to political theory.

I only remember these three people. You can look for the others.