Portrait of Confucius
Center-right · Thinker or writer · From history

Confucius

Philosopher and teacher, 551 to 479 BCE

Taught that good government rests on the moral example of rulers, family duty and ritual, ideas that shaped Chinese statecraft and its civil service exams for two thousand years.

Confucius sits in the right-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: centered on economy and leaning authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly traditional on culture, strongly institutional on institutions and leaning authoritarian on liberty and authority. The profile is close to the middle on economy.

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Where Confucius sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomyCentered on economy
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityLeaning authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationSlightly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentSlightly nature-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologySlightly tech-cautious
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceLeaning peace-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsStrongly institutional
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismSlightly non-interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Confucius

Pope Benedict XVI Pope, 2005 to 201397%Thomas Aquinas Italian theologian and philosopher, 1225 to 127497%Fatafehi Fakafānua Prime Minister of Tonga, 2025 to present97%Peter Mutharika President of Malawi, 2014 to 2020 and 2025 to present96%Mahmoud Abbas President of the Palestinian Authority, 2005 to present96%Mswati III King of Eswatini, 1986 to present96%Pope John Paul II Pope, 1978 to 200596%Adama Barrow President of the Gambia, 2017 to present96%

People furthest from Confucius

Emma Goldman Russian-born anarchist and writer, 1869 to 19405%Mikhail Bakunin Russian revolutionary and anarchist, 1814 to 18767%Peter Kropotkin Russian anarchist and naturalist, 1842 to 19218%Ayn Rand Russian-American novelist and philosopher, 1905 to 19829%

Political views closest to Confucius

Confucian meritocracyPrefers rule by educated, moral officials chosen by merit over competitive elections.97%Christian democracyBlends Christian social teaching, a social market economy and European cooperation.97%One-nation conservatismA paternalist conservatism holding that the better off owe duties to the poor and to…95%MonarchismSupports a hereditary monarch as head of state, from ceremonial constitutional monarchy…94%

Read more about Confucius

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Anonymous Chinese painter of the Western Han period, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.