Yesterday, as I was watching the political debacle in DC unfold on my Twitter feed, I was simultaneously proof-reading a piece for the upcoming Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography. I have written an entry for Mozi, the great pre-Qin philosopher who inspired a significant school of thought, Mohism. I should say right up front that I am not a Mohist. Their politics are overly authoritarian for my tastes; but I am fascinated by Mozi: how he developed a utilitarian and empiricist philosophy - quite an alternative to Confucianism - but also how he fell into utter irrelevance after the Qin dynasty. Maybe they should make a movie about him...
In any event, there was John Boehner, going down to crushing defeat as the Republican caucus in the House fractured into factional in-fighting. The center did not hold because there was no center, just small groups of self-interested political actors driven by narrow ideological concerns. "Herding cats" hardly captures the chaos. And then my eyes shifted to this passage from Mozi:
Master Mo Zi spoke, saying: “Ancient times, when people first came into being, were times when there were as yet no laws or government, so it was said that people had differing principles. This meant that, if there was one person, there was one principle; if there were two people, there were two principles; and if there were ten people, there were ten principles. The more people there were, the more things there were that were spoken of as principles. This was a case of people affirming their own principles and condemning those of other people. The consequence of this was mutual condemnation. In this way, within a household, father and sons, and older and younger brothers were resentful and hostile, separated and dispersed, and unable to reach agreement and accord with each other. Throughout the world, people all used water and fire, and poisons and potions to injure and harm one another. As a result, those with strength to spare did not use it to help each other in their work, surplus goods rotted and decayed and were not used for mutual distribution, and good doctrines were hidden and obscured and not used for mutual teaching. So the world was in a state of disorder comparable to that amongst the birds and beasts. (Johnston, 91)
Pretty much captures the extraordinary ineptitude of the contemporary Republican party: "The more people there were, the more things there were that were spoken of as principles. This was a case of people affirming their own principles and condemning those of other people." Perhaps we should subject these people to the kinds of punishment Mozi also recommended:
Those who were unworthy [were] curbed and demoted, impoverishing them and debasing them by making them followers and servants. (Johnston, 63)
Does Ted Cruz do windows? He should....
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