‘What you do not desire for yourself, do not do to others.’ The idea of reciprocity of benevolence in human relationships formed the primary basis of Confucianism. However, to much surprise, Confucius presents this idea of reciprocity in a negative connotation, implying that restraint rather than action is a better practice. In contrast, Western philosophy considers ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ in a positive light. Regardless of the form it is represented in the term became universally accepted and under the ideologies of moral philosophy, this reciprocity was established as The Golden Rule.
Not only moral philosophy but also the political take on morality forms its substratum over the golden rule. Utilizing the concept in a government system often raises the question of how far can we imply this rule upon citizens and authorities – is there a limit to what could be reciprocated, and how is this implication different for an authoritarian and a libertarian?
