Rule of Law and Rule of Virtue in the Modern Political Perspective: A Prelude to the Series of Political Theory Textbooks

Author: Dai Mucai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: In terms of the macro development of human society's political progress, there are primarily two social and political forms: "rule by man" and "rule of law." Correspondingly, the relationship and nature between "rule of law" and "rule of virtue" mainly exist within these two social and political forms. Under the political form of "rule by man," politics holds a special importance and a "central position." In the fields of socio-economy, politics, and culture, everything revolves around politics, existing in a state of "integration." "Law" is merely a control mechanism for "rule by man," while "rule of virtue" becomes the dominant approach and implementation tool for "rule by man." Under the political state of "rule of law," the socio-economic, political, and cultural fields tend to separate relatively. "Rule of law" and "rule of virtue" gain relative autonomous domains, which determines that "rule of law" and "rule of virtue" must inevitably combine dialectically. In the modern political perspective, the constitutional system marks the establishment of the dialectical unity paradigm of "rule of law" and "rule of virtue," serving as the institutionalized form of modern "virtue-law integration." It fundamentally embodies the organic unity of political values and political systems, establishing the legitimacy foundation of modern politics from both the value and institutional perspectives—i.e., "rule of virtue" and "rule of law." From the perspective of political values, it establishes the "rule of virtue" connotation of popular sovereignty and basic human rights; from the perspective of political systems, it establishes the "rule of law" connotation of procedural legitimacy recognized by the people. It is an integration of a series of political concepts, political cultures, and institutional arrangements, including the protection of citizens' basic rights, popular sovereignty, representative democracy, separation of powers and checks and balances, and the supremacy of the rule of law.