The Confucian social contract: From prosperity to education and culture

Before my first trip to the United States, I had a rosy vision of a strong, ethical, and prosperous nation—one shaped by Hollywood blockbusters, technological marvels, a vibrant democracy, and checks on power.
But after visiting a few times, that ideal shattered. I encountered encampments of homeless people lining the streets, stark divides between neighbourhoods, and an pervasive unease after dark. Worse, I sensed a toxic rift: the poor resenting the rich, who dismissed the destitute as architects of their own misfortune.
Since then, I’ve watched U.S. social cohesion erode further—marked by rising physical violence, online vitriol, and the ultra-wealthy’s unchecked extravagance. Jeff Bezos’s opulent Italian wedding, for instance, left a lasting sting.
It is time to introduce a timeless Confucian vision from The Analects: a blueprint for a truly wealthy society that priorities the collective good.

子适卫，冉有仆。子曰：“庶矣哉！”
冉有曰：“既庶矣，又何加焉？”
曰：“富之。”
曰：“既富矣，又何加焉？”
曰：“教之。”

When Confucius went to the state of Wei, Ranyou was his attendant. Confucius marvelled, “The population here is numerous!”
Ranyou said, “Since it is already numerous, what more should be done?”
Confucius said, “Enrich them.”
Ranyou said, “Once enriched, what more should be done?”
Confucius said, “Educate them.”

子: Confucius.
冉有: Ranyou, a student of Confucius. Here, he is accompanying Confucius to the state of Wei, and also serving as his attendant.

This concise dialogue provides an important angle to understand today’s U.S. divides. Let’s take a closer look.

Enrich them.
This is the first step that Confucius prescribes for a thriving populace.
It is a confirmation to the pursuit of wealth — 富, targeting the everyday masses — 庶. This isn’t individualism. It is a collective process. Build a society where the many flourish, laying the groundwork for all else.
Contrast this with a common Western ethos, where wealth-accumulating is a solo sprint. If some people end up on the streets, it is due to their own fault. Perhaps they are lazy, or they give up their future for drugs, or they simply choose that way. Yet this overlooks systemic tilts: inherited privileges or barriers that rig the race from the start. For Confucius, uplifting the majority isn’t optional; it’s a top priority.
This probably reminds readers of “common prosperity”, lambasted by Western commentators when Xi Jinping championed it a few years ago. They cried “egalitarianism” or “taxing the rich dry”.
These pundits really don’t understand Chinese thinking. Making a society rich does not deny individual’s efforts to better themselves. What Confucius points out is that only a good and prosperous society can provide necessary foundation and protection for individual’s efforts and choices. It accommodates titans like Bezos—while shielding ordinary lives from being steamrolled.

Educate them.
With prosperity secured, Confucius’s next step: Holistic education—教—that transcends rote literacy and math. With the advancement of technology and under the threat of AI, such basics falter. Young minds are pigeonholed and forced to choose a career, which is now in danger of being replaced by AI.
Confucian learning, by contrast, builds on fundamentals to foster wholeness: self-cultivation toward moral depth, cultural richness, and spiritual fulfilment.
This holistic education can only be possible in a prosperous society. Only when people are no longer constantly worried about putting food in their mouths, can they be truly pursuing propriety and justice. Only when people are no longer constantly worried about having a shelter over their heads, can they be truly concerned about dignity and courtesy.
Prosperity isn’t the summit. It is the soil for ethical growth.

What Confucius calls for is a virtuous cycle: Enrich the masses — Educate them — A cohesive society that uplifts individual.
Apply this lens to America, and the fracture glares: Its cycle runs Enrich the elite — Widening chasms — Societal unraveling. At the base, the poor scrape by; the middle class is filled with anxiety. Meanwhile, the superrich revel in ethical voids—Bezos’s lavish Italian wedding a case in point. As one of the world’s richest, he jetted elites to a Venetian fortress, seemingly oblivious (or indifferent) to the protesters below. Such spectacles widen the gulf, breeding resentment and rupture.
While Bezos toasts in splendour, a large number of working class Americans face deepening woes. The society, the very ecosystem that made Bezos rich, is collapsing and becoming poor, fuelling divisions, hatred and violence.
However, things could change. Across the spectrum, leaders rally around the masses, trying in different ways to restore the US society.
Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election hinged on vows to revive high-wage manufacturing. Zohran Mamdani, fresh off clinching the Democratic primary, leads 2025 NYC mayoral polls with pledges for affordability—rent caps, wage hikes and affordable groceries.
From right to left, these bids echo Confucius’s first step: Prioritise prosperity for the many.
Time will test them. In a few years, we’ll see if they forge that foundation—or falter.

More than 2500 years ago, Confucius had already realised that the economic foundation has a decisive role in shaping a society.
This dialogue sketches a Confucian social contract, rooted in sequence: For a populous nation to thrive, first secure material abundance for the masses—then layer on education to spark ethical and cultural growth.
Unlike Western individualism, which often emphasises personal success in isolation, Confucianism envisions that economic stability can free people from survival concerns, enabling them to pursue learning and moral refinement. This progression reflects that prosperity is not an end but a means to cultivate cohesive societies.
Therefore, pursuing wealth is accepted and encouraged. And it should be on a collective scale. Only when the many prosper can true enlightenment take hold, mending the fractures I once glimpsed on American streets.

This article is part of an e-course, The Freedom: 3 Lessons from Confucius on Wealth, Career, and Pursuit of Excellence. Explore the full program to get the complete, actionable framework for finding clarity and purpose in your professional and personal life.

Get it Here: MSL Master e-courses