Not bad for 2500 years ago

There must have been something in the air or water around the 5th and 6th centuries BC because the human race did some of its best thinking then. I'm thinking the Buddha, Lao Tzu, the Hebrew prophets, Aeschylus and the whole crew. The centuries around that time are often referred to as "the Axial Age."

Here's another timely thought from our old friend Confucius:

I have heard that a nation or a family does not worry that it has little but that that little is unevenly apportioned, does not worry that it is poor but that it is unstable. Because with equitable distribution there is real worry, with harmony, no real scarcity, with stability, no real peril.

Note: I'm still on the road. Regular posts with links and all should resume tomorrow.

Trail mix

El Cabrero is still on the road but in lieu of trail mix, here are some quotes from Confucius:

Those who go wrong by holding back are few.

Hear the Way in the morning and it won't matter if you die that evening.

...shall I teach you what it means to know something? When you know, to know you don't know. When you don't know, to know you don't know. That's what knowing is.

What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others.

Zigong asked, Is there a single word that can guide a person's conduct throughout life? The Master said, That would be reciprocity, wouldn't it?

NOTE: I'm still on the road so there ain't no links. Back soon

The confidence of the people

El Cabrero is on the road these days, but the blog is still rolling. The current theme is the philosophy of the ancient Chinese sage known in the West as Confucius, whose ideas are still influential in many parts of the world and merit a serious look.

While "Confucianism" has sometimes been classified as a religion, that is a label that doesn't fit too well. He was above all concerned with earthly things and political life.

While ancient Chinese philosophers like Confucius did not directly espouse democracy, they did call for good government that served the interests of the people. Some people have argued that the ancient Chinese idea of the "Mandate of Heaven" is similar to later Western ideas of the social contract. The basic idea is that a government is legitimate and enjoys the Mandate as long as it serves the people but loses legitimacy and the Mandate when it does not.

Here's a passage from The Analects:

Tzu-kung asked about government. Confucius said, "Sufficient food, sufficient armament, and sufficient confidence of the people. Tzu-kung said, "Forced to give up one of this, which would you abandon first?" Confucius said, "I would abandon the armament." Tzu-kung said, "Forced to give up one of the remaining two, which would you abandon first?" Confucius said, "I would abandon food. There have been deaths from time immemorial, but no state can exist without the confidence of the people.

That's something lots of tyrants have found out the hard way.

NOTE: I'm still on the road so there are no links. This post will not reflect any breaking news. Let's hope it's all quiet on the Western Front.

A respectful distance

Western thinkers were slow to recognize and appreciate Chinese thought. But when that finally did start to happen, Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire were great admirers of Confucius, whose ideas were quite free of the religious dogmatism and fanaticism they were fighting against. While respectful of spiritual things, his focus was very much on this world.

This attitude can be seen in several passages in The Analects, where he advised

Devote yourself earnestly to the duties due to men, and respect spiritual beings but keep them at a distance. This may be called wisdom.

In another passage, it is said that

Confucius never discussed strange phenomena, physical exploits, disorder, or spiritual beings.

His attitude is perhaps best expressed in this passage:

Chi-lu asked about serving the spiritual beings. Confucius said, "If we are not yet able to serve man, how can we serve spiritual beings?" [Chi-lu asked] "I venture to ask about death." Confucius said, "If we do not yet know about life, how can we know about death?

Those are pretty advanced views for someone who lived around 500 years before the birth of Jesus. Far be it from El Cabrero to knock religion (some days), but some folks could do with a dose of Confucianism.

Note: I'm on the road so there are no links for the next few days. This post has been scheduled in advance and won't reflect breaking news (in fact, I'm OK if there aren't any big stories for the next little stretch).

Teaching and learning

El Cabrero is on the road for a few days. Goat Rope will continue to appear, but there may or may not be links and snarky comments about current events.

In the meantime, I'll be serving up some of my favorite sayings by and about the ancient Chinese philosopher known in the West as Confucius. As I mentioned before, I tend to be partial to Lao Tzu, whose Taoist ideas represent the other pole of Chinese thought, but Master Kung knew a thing or two about a thing or two.

I could be wrong about this, but it seems to me that people and cultures immersed, consciously or otherwise, with an appreciation of Confucian values tend to do pretty well wherever they land. These values include social responsibility, family, and above all a love of learning an education.

The very first line of The Analects, a collection of sayings by and about Confucius goes like this:

Confucius said, is it not a pleasure to learn and to repeat or practice from time to time what one has learned?

Learning, as he understood it, was a matter of character, morality, and social ethics. It was also a lifelong task. As he put it,

At fifteen my mind was set on learning. At thirty my character had been formed. At fifty I knew the Mandate of Heaven. At sixty I was at ease with whatever I heard. At seventy I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing moral principles.

He also had some interesting ideas about the nature of mental development, which should involve not just taking in knowledge but a creative response as well. Without both, there could be trouble:

He who learns but does not think is lost; he who thinks but does not learn is in danger.

And here's an example of some pretty advanced thinking for that day and age:

In education there should be no class distinctions

.

We're still working on that one.

NOTE: I'm on the road and this post has been scheduled in advance so it won't reflect any big news items that come up. Well may the world go.

The old, the new

Whatever my political leanings may be, I have a really strong conservative streak--in the old sense of the word conservative, as in respecting the traditions of the past. I tend to value old things that have withstood the tests of time to new innovations.

I suspect more wisdom can be found in places like Greek tragedy, myths and old philosophies than in just about anything on the bestseller list. Science would be the major exception.

I think that's one reason why I like Confucius, whose approach to philosophy has been called (by whom I can't recall) "innovation through transmission."

A saying of his from the Analects that has influenced me is this one:

One who studies the old so as to find the new is worthy to teach others.

This doesn't imply a mindless repetition of old traditions but rather a critical evaluation of them in search of insights that apply to the current situation, a kind of dialogue between past and present. I've always suspected that the best innovators are not people who make up things out of new cloth but rather those who piece together old insights in new ways.

IF ALL GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN, WV Governor Joe Manchin will name the person who will fill the late Robert Byrd's US Senate seat (if not his shoes) today. As soon as that person is sworn in, we can probably expect yet another vote on extending unemployment benefits to the approximately 2 million people who have lost them. Lots of us hope that WV's vote will be the tipping point.

Here are three related items:

FOX NEWS TRASHES UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. I know that's a shock, but read more about it, including debunking, here.

A DOUBLE IMPACT. To clear the palate, this issue brief from the Economic Policy Institute shows that UI benefits don't just keep jobless workers going but also help create and preserve jobs:

The reasoning is simple. Those who are unemployed are experiencing a major challenge to maintain anything close to their regular standard of living, so any assistance they receive will be spent on necessities, not saved. The spending that results as the unemployed pay their rent, buy groceries, and so on saves and creates jobs throughout the economy.

ASSESSING ARRA. Here's congressional testimony on the Recovery Act and what remains to be done to deal with the impact of the Great Recession.

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE CORPORATE SUITES, the Washington Post notes that:

Corporate America is hoarding a massive pile of cash. It just doesn't want to spend it hiring anyone.

Read more here.

CHICKEN HAWKS. The loudest voices on the deficit are opposed to allowing Bush-era tax cuts to expire.

ONE FOR THE ROAD. Here's the Washington Post on the passage of landmark financial reform legislation.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Master Kung

I mentioned Confucius in yesterday's post, so I might as well fess up to re-reading The Analects, a collection of sayings and anecdotes by and about this ancient Chinese sage.

It has often been observed that there are two poles in traditional Chinese thought, the Taoist and the Confucian. The Taoism expressed by Lao Tzu emphasizes simplicity and living according to nature, while Confucian thought emphasizes ritual, courtesy, and social and familial responsibilities.

The former is a bit anarchic while the latter is all about social order. It has been said that in traditional Chinese society, a gentleman might be Confucian in his public life and Taoist in his private affairs.

I generally lean towards Taoism, but have a soft spot for Confucius. This may be because one of the first places I really felt at home was a traditional karate dojo, which is kind of miniature Confucian society. A good dojo is a very hierarchical and totally undemocratic place, but one where people observe strict rules of mutual respect and courtesy. It is expected that junior students should show respect to seniors and to the teacher and that seniors and teachers had a responsibility to assist the juniors, with an overall goal of the mutual benefit and improvement of all.

There are worse kinds of places to be.

Over the next few posts, I may pass on a few of his ideas that have spoken to me over the years.

UPPER BIG BRANCH MINE DISASTER. Here's an initial report from the independent investigative team appointed by WV Governor Joe Manchin on Massey's April mine disaster. And here's a new report from NPR about a possibly serious UBB safety violation.

THE OTHER DISASTER. Here are some possible lessons from the Gulf mess.

SHRINKING PAYCHECK over several years are making the recession worse, as Robert Reich argues here.

EMOTIONS are contagious.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

"Tough decisions"

I have a fondness for the ancient Chinese philosopher known in the West as Confucius (aka Kong zi or K'ung-tzu). When he was asked what he would do first if given a position of influence in a government, he said he'd start with "the rectification of names," which kind of means words more into line with reality. George Orwell made the same point in the mid 20th century.

Certain words are often over-used in the realm of politics and could use a little rectification. One example of this is the expression "tough decisions," which some politicians are proud to have made. Generally, a tough decision is one that sticks it to the working class, the poor or relatively underprivileged, usually by cutting some program which puts some resources in their direction.

These days, such "tough decisions" involve things like shafting the unemployed.

As Tony Judt put it in his recent book Ill Fares the Land,

These days, we take pride in being tough enough to inflict pain on others. If an older usage were still in force, whereby being tough consisted of enduring pain rather than imposing it on others, we should perhaps think twice before so callously valuing efficiency over compassion.

The term used around here for decisions that inflict punishment on the powerless is a little different. It's a compound word, the first part of which is "chicken" and the last is best left to the Gentle Reader's imagination.

TALKING SENSE. Here's a good editorial from the Washington Post about the need for Congress to act on unemployment insurance and aid to states.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, 38 Americans have lost unemployment benefits every minute since June 2.

A MODEST PROPOSAL. Economist Dean Baker suggest we treat corporate irresponsibility the same way we do drunk driving.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED