I love the works of Mozi, they're so practical

[zarus tathra]

link

It's so simple. It's a book that's entirely about the basics of government and nothing more. No arcane procedures, no overcomplicated principles, just simple analogies and a statement of essential principles. As an example:

Though there should be tactics in war, courage is fundamental. Though there should be ceremonies for mourning, grief is essential. Though a scholar should be learned, he must first of all exhibit good conduct. When the seeds are not well sown, there is no use in labouring for a good harvest. When the people near-by are not befriended there is no use of endeavouring to attract those at a distance. When one's relatives are not submissive, there is no use in endeavouring to establish contacts with the outside world. When one cannot accomplish a single task from beginning to end, there is no use of attempting many things. And when one is ignorant of a commonplace that is pointed out, there is no use of pursuing wide knowledge.

[Solitary]

Thank you zarus tathra! Solitary


Mozi said: There are seven causes of worry to a state and they are: (1) When the outer and the inner city walls are not defensible; (2) When an enemy state is approaching and yet one's neighbours do not come to the rescue; (3) When the resources of the people have all been spent on useless enterprises and gifts all squandered upon incapable men, when people's resources are exhausted without producing any profit and the treasury is emptied by entertaining idle company; (4) When the officials value only their salaries, and the sophists only friendship, and when the subordinates dare not remonstrate against the laws the ruler has made for persecution;

 (5) When the lord is over-confident of his own wisdom and holds no consultation, when he feels he is secure and makes no preparations against attack; and when he does not know that he must be watchful while neighbours are planning against him; (6) When those trusted are not loyal and the loyal are not trusted; and (7) When the crops are not sufficient for food and the ministers can not be charged with responsibilities, and when awards fail to make people happy and punishment to make them afraid. With these seven causes present in the maintenance of the state, the state will perish, and, in the defence of a city, the city will be reduced to ruin by the approaching enemy. Wherever these seven causes are found, the country will face calamity. Sounds like the mess we're in right now.  8-[   Solitary

[zarus tathra]

One of his basic principles are that you should reward the useful and good and punish the vicious, because the vicious generally know nothing that is of real importance. A very specific prescription in this vein is his suggestion that you should exile the vicious people from the city center so that they should have no influence. This is the opposite of our current system, in which the viciously reckless poor and fast-talking hucksters concentrate in the nation's megalopolises.

[mykcob4]

I find it out dated and not quite contemporay. Yes it sounds good and esoteric but it cannot actually be applied to reality. Some of it is valid like when the loyal are distrusted and the trusted disloyal but the problem is you cannot take a snapshot of the dynamics of events and make an accurate assessment, nor can you effeciently change events on such a magnitude with expedience.
I can publish a set of guidelines just as deep, just as profound but what good is it?
"When the crow speaks and all listen to the crow, but the crow doth lie and they all obey the crow, the castle will fall and rot shall cover the ground."
Wiil that end FOX NOISE? Will it silence Rush Limpball? Will Glen crybabby Beck finally disappear? Nope, never gonna happen!

[zarus tathra]

Hahaha that's hilarious but this is probably the Chinese school of thought that's least likely to use such silly, artful metaphors. They're pretty literal throughout the book.

Some of their ideas are wrong/contradictory. Throughout their discourse, they emphasize the value of practicality, but at one point they say that people shouldn't try to build super-durable wagons, even though a durable wagon is obviously more useful than a rickety one. But on a lot of basics, they were right.

Therefore in administering the government, the ancient sage-kings ranked the morally excellent high and exalted the virtuous. If capable, even a farmer or an artisan would be employed - commissioned with high rank, remunerated with liberal emoluments, trusted with important charges, and empowered to issue final orders. For, if his rank were not high, people would not respect him; if his emoluments were not liberal, people would not have confidence in him; if his orders were not final, people would not stand in awe before him. To place these three (honours) upon the virtuous is not so much to reward virtue, as to bring about the success of the enterprise (of government). Therefore ranks should be standardized according to virtue, tasks assigned according to office, and rewards given according to labour spent. When emoluments are distributed in proportion to achievements, officials cannot be in constant honour, and people in eternal humility. If a person is capable promote him, if incapable, lower his rank. Give prominence to public approval and keep back private grudges (in the matter of selecting men). Here, then, is the principle.

Not so esoteric, now, is it?

Of course, you have to actually DEFINE what "virtue" is, and what "order" is, but this isn't really hard to do, people just don't bother to do it.