Mencius' Political Theory: A Critique of Political Corruption in the Philippines

This thesis aims to expound Mencius’ political theory and apply it as a critique of political corruption in the Philippines. The researcher endeavors to realize a holistic comprehension of Mencius’ political theory by briefly exploring the contentions of Confucianism’s leading critique, namely; Mo Tzu, the founder of Mohism and Yang Tzu, the forerunner of Chinese individualism. Moreover, he inquires the nature and types of corruption as valuable backgrounds in understanding political corruption. Furthermore, he investigates and understands the causes and consequences of Philippine political corruption. Lastly, he employs Mencius’ political theory to criticize the causes and consequences of Philippine political corruption.
Mencius’ political theory revolves around his doctrine of benevolent (jen) government-- that is governed by a sage king. Harmonious human coexistence is achieved only through such a government because it ensures both the economic and moral welfare of the people. Any country or institution can employ jen government because it is not based on any political system but on the universal goodness of human nature. Everyone can become a sage king if he constantly cultivates his innate seeds of goodness.
In the analysis, the present Philippine government is far from being a jen government because of political corruption. The cause of this social disease is the Filipino mentality, not the present political system. This Filipino mentality refers to the misapplication of Filipino traditional values such as pakikisama (sense of belongingness), utang na loob (debt of gratitude), hiya (sense of shame), and pagkamakapamilya (sense of kinship) that causes the Filipino people’s distorted sense of morality and political immaturity.
A true government is that which is governed by virtue and promotes economic stability and moral uprightness of the people. In such criterion, indeed, the Philippines is far from being a legitimate government because of rampant political corruption.