Thus, thinkers such as Mencius, Confucius’s leading intellectual heir, argued that humane authorities should punish immoral rulers in other states who tyrannize their people. Rulers who rely mostly on military or economic might divorced from morality, he argued, cannot achieve long-term success on the international stage.
因此，孔子思想的最大继承者孟子认为，王者应当惩罚那些在本国施行暴政的统治者。他认为，不顾道义而仰仗军事或经济实力维持统治的君主是不可能长期屹立于国际舞台之上的。