德治论可定义为重视道德的社会作用的理论主张。它有传统与现代两种不同的形态。两种形态的分野在于对如下两个问题的回答:当推重道德时,所强调的是哪部分社会成员的道德?同时,它所倡导的道德,就性质而言,是怎样的道德?以儒家为代表的传统德治论,强调的是精英阶层的道德,提倡的主要是自我约束的道德;现代德治论强调的是民众阶层的道德,提倡的主要是维护自身合法权益的道德。这种差异根源于它们所适应的不同的政治制度。 Moral governance can be defined as a theoretical claim that emphasizes the social role of morality. It has two different forms of tradition and modernity. The difference between the two forms lies in the answers to the following two questions: When emphasizing morality, what part of the social members’ morality is stressed? At the same time, what kind of morality is morality? What is morality in terms of nature? As the representative of the traditional moral governance theory, emphasizing the elite ethics advocated mainly self-restraint ethics; modern moral governance theory emphasizes the morality of the mass class advocated mainly to safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests of the moral. This difference stems from the different political systems to which they are adapted.