First, "rule by law" is compatible with democracy, and "rule by man" is compatible with autocracy.
"Rule of law" is a way of governing the country that is compatible with market economy and industrial civilization. The foundation of modern democratic politics is the rule of law. The degree of rule of law is an important indicator to measure whether a country is modernized.
"Rule by man" is a way of governing the country that is compatible with natural economy and agricultural civilization, and absolute monarchy is the main form of rule by man. In a country ruled by men, all people only obey those who have power and their will.
Therefore, "rule by law" is the opposite of "rule by man" and the natural enemy of "rule by man". The most effective way for modern countries to get rid of the limitations and chronic diseases of "rule by man" is to adopt "rule by law".
Second, the "rule of law" emphasizes that "power comes from law" and the rule of man emphasizes that "law comes from power".
"The rule of law emphasizes that power comes from law, that is, all public power must have a legal basis. No power can be exercised without legal basis. Even if people exercise relevant power outside the law, it will not have legal effect. The concept of legitimacy has two meanings. One is the concept of legitimacy used in political philosophy, which is intrinsically related to the concept of rationality to some extent. The second is the concept of legitimacy used in law. In fact, it is about legitimacy. " [v]
"Rule by man" emphasizes that law comes from the monarch. As the saying goes, "I am the country" and "I am the law". In a country ruled by men, the monarch and the ruling class can not only create laws, but also transcend them. They just use laws to control and suppress ordinary people and safeguard their own rule.
Third, "rule of law" emphasizes that "law is greater than power" and "rule of man" emphasizes that "power is greater than law".
"Rule of law" emphasizes that all public power should obey the law, which is the highest public reason and the place where public power comes into being. All rights without legal basis are illegal. Even in a state of emergency, the use of political power should follow the principle of exercising according to law. [vi] Therefore, the governance activities governed by law are subject to established rules and do not depend on the temporary intelligence or other wisdom of the rulers. This kind of governance can avoid the influence of the ruler's personal temperament and likes and dislikes, and prevent the abuse of political power and the disaster of personal dictatorship.
"Rule by man" is the "power rule" that the supreme ruler is not bound by law. The power of the supreme ruler is greater than the law. Whoever holds the political power will rule the country and the people. In a country ruled by men, the concept of official standard prevails, and people generally worship power and ignore the law. Because mastering political power is a shortcut to get rich and worship ancestors. As the saying goes, "when one person is an official, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." In ancient China, emperors since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism, advocated "ruling the country by virtue", and adopted the imperial examination after Sui and Tang Dynasties. However, under the rule of man, Luo Zhi built a huge and tight network of power relations, and under the impact of power, both law and morality disappeared. As a result, officialdom politics is dark and decadent, and corrupt officials are popular. Therefore, the ancient dynasty of China never jumped out of the "cycle rate of regime rise and fall".
Fourth, "rule of law" emphasizes the supremacy of law, and "rule of man" emphasizes the supremacy of leaders.
"Rule of law" emphasizes the supremacy of law, including two aspects: "First, compared with any other rules, law has supremacy and priority in governing social activities and regulating people's communicative behavior; The second is that compared with any organization or individual, the law is supreme, and any organization or individual must obey the law. " [vii] Therefore, a country ruled by law requires the ruling party and the state to abide by the law like ordinary citizens.
"Rule by man" emphasizes the supremacy of leaders, including two aspects. One is that the will of the leader who holds state power is higher than the law, and he can legislate or abolish the law in one sentence; The second is that the leaders in power decide the important affairs of the country. With the absolute authority, he carried out his will to the whole society and carried it out. Therefore, the personal authority of political leaders has become the basis for maintaining national unity and social stability. Under the autocratic monarchy system of "people ruling the country", the fate of the country and society depends on "a good monarch". Once there is a weak monarch or a bad monarch, the country will either decline or perish. The demise of the ancient dynasty in China was almost directly related to the incompetence of several emperors in the last years of the dynasty. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty first became emperor, he made great efforts to establish "Kaiyuan Shi Sheng". But later, he doted on Yang Guifei, indulged in harem amusement, reused treacherous court officials, and often did not care about state affairs, which led to the "Anshi Rebellion" and led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
In a word, the essential difference between "rule by law" and "rule by man" lies in whether the state power operates strictly according to law. A country ruled by law requires establishing the concept of "law is greater than power" and creating a system of "law is greater than power". To build a socialist country ruled by law, we should closely combine democracy with the rule of law, "organically unify the adherence to the leadership of the party, the people being the masters of the country and the rule of law", and gradually eliminate the adverse effects left by "rule by man" and "power".