Research on the Economic Ethical Thought of the Guanzi

Author: Zhou Junmin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Because of the decline of the Zhou royal family and their loss of the ability to mediate struggles among feudal lords, the conflicts among feudal lords became even more intense after Zheng emerged as dominant. To accumulate strength and truly become a hegemon among feudal lords, one must work hard in both the economic and military aspects. (2) The Decisive Role of Economic Strength Any political or military confrontation ultimately boils down to a competition of comprehensive national strength, and the essence of this competition is a competition of economic strength. Who possesses strong comprehensive national and economic strength has the greatest say. The reason the United States can play the role of the world's police today lies precisely in this. Since the mid-19th century, when the United States experienced a civil war, it has not been involved in any wars, especially not the devastating two world wars that brought the world destruction. Instead, the U.S. has benefited greatly from arms trading and later by participating in wars as a victor. As a result, the United States has accumulated substantial economic strength, with enough economic power to support its political and military actions, to the extent that even Russia, the bear of the North, cannot compete with it, and other countries are even more so. This means that with sufficient economic support, one can subdue others without fighting; of course, even if one goes to war with sufficient economic support, one will certainly have the advantage everywhere and hold the winning card. As an outstanding economist in ancient China, Guan Zhong was renowned for his skill in financial management and had unique insights into the relationship between military and economic matters. The discussions in The Guanzi on the relationship between military and economic matters, wealth, and military strength among the pre-Qin philosophers are the most comprehensive and systematic, proposing many original ideas. The Guanzi fully recognizes the dependence of the military on the economy and the decisive significance of a nation's economic strength in determining the outcome of wars. It holds that a wealthy state will have a strong army, and a strong army will achieve victory, and a victorious army will expand its territory. (Governance) Otherwise, if a state is poor and lacks resources, its army will be weak, and its soldiers will lack morale; a weak army with demoralized soldiers will fail in battle and be unable to defend its territory; if a state fails to win battles and cannot defend its territory, it will be in peril. (Seven Methods) A poor state will have a weak army, which will inevitably lead to military defeats and endanger national security. At the same time, it is well aware that war consumes vast amounts of wealth, so The Guanzi emphasizes "not engaging in futile warfare." That is, if war is unavoidable, one must fully estimate the costs before going to war. "A single campaign consumes a decade's accumulated wealth; the expenses of one battle exhaust the achievements of generations. If one engages in battle without prior profit, then the war itself is doomed to fail." (Seven Methods) A single military campaign consumes years of accumulated wealth. If one prepares adequately before war and only raises funds for the army after the war, it is equivalent to failing before the battle even begins. Because The Guanzi has a full understanding of the economic backing of war, it particularly emphasizes expanding production and accumulating wealth in terms of military preparedness. "The defense of the land lies in the city, the defense of the city lies in the army, the defense of the army lies in the people, and the defense of the people lies in grain. Therefore, if the land is not developed, the city cannot be secured." (Regulating the State) It is clear that The Guanzi's focus on strengthening military preparedness lies in developing and agriculture, and broadening the sources of wealth. At the same time, it also emphasizes using the "" ( theory) to accumulate wealth and serve military purposes. "Take away before giving, raise prices before lowering, provoke anger before showing joy, and the world can be conquered." (Light and Heavy, Part B) Manipulating prices, adjusting distribution, and meeting national needs are the core of the theory in The Guanzi. Moreover, it emphasizes leveraging the convenience of trade with other countries, controlling price fluctuations through state authority, and thereby controlling the market to acquire wealth from the world, using economic means to dominate other countries for one's own use. "The capital of Qi lies in its markets, which are the sources of trade. The path of the wealthy is the way of the merchants. Those who come to the capital consume our grain and use our currency. Only then do they depart. Let there be surplus and scarcity, let there be high and low prices, and then all the treasures of the world will be used for our benefit. The wise use what they do not have and employ those who are not present." (Earthly Resources) Through state orders, not only can the wealth of the world be gathered, but the people of other countries can also be mobilized. In summary, The Guanzi regards material wealth as one of the fundamental conditions for the outcome of war and considers enriching the state the fundamental way to strengthen the army. In Seven Methods, it proposes eight aspects of "the art of warfare," with "accumulating wealth" as the first, and puts forward the saying, "Without covering the world in wealth, one cannot rule the world." Based on this understanding, The Guanzi treats the development of the economy itself as an economic war. Specifically, this mainly involves the following aspects: First, "using domestic governance to entrust military orders." Guan Zhong governed Qi, aspiring to hegemony, with the focus of "using domestic governance to entrust military orders," embedding military orders within the process of domestic governance. According to the Records of the States·Qi, Guan Zhong integrated the army into agriculture, combining soldiers and civilians, unifying political and military education, thereby integrating resident organizations, production organizations, and military organizations into a single entity, making the people "share the same joy, harmony in action, and sorrow in death," and making them "united in defense and strong in battle." The Chengma chapter proposes establishing military systems after establishing complete administrative (guan zhi), resident (yi zhi), and production (shi zhi) systems. "A square of six li is a single chariot's land. A chariot requires four horses. Each horse has seven pieces of armor and five shields; a chariot has twenty-eight pieces of armor and twenty shields, and thirty white soldiers carry four two-wheeled vehicles." In daily life, agricultural production and martial training are combined. "Polishing farming tools as if they were weapons, farming as if waging war, using plows and hoes as swords and spears, wearing raincoats as armor, and using bamboo hats as shields. Thus, when farming tools are ready, so are weapons; when farming skills are practiced, so are martial skills." (Forbidden Storage) This unifies production and military preparedness, and enriching the state and strengthening the army. (3) The Historical Rationality of the "State-Centric" Economic Ethical Principle Any idea cannot arise from nothing; its emergence is tied to a certain historical background and closely linked to the political, economic, and cultural conditions of the time. The "state-centric" economic ethical principle in The Guanzi is no exception; it is connected to its historical background and is a product of objective historical demands, thus possessing historical rationality. 1. Aligning with the Requirements of Historical Development. Lenin said, "The state is a tool of class oppression." In other words, the state arises with class differentiation. Early Chinese society also developed along this trajectory. After the primitive society, it entered the feudal state era, but due to underdeveloped productivity and the limitations of natural environmental conditions, the state was still a loose alliance of tribes and did not form a highly centralized structure. This situation was similar across the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, with the Zhou dynasty still maintaining a feudal system. As productivity developed, politics, the economy, and culture all advanced correspondingly. The power of feudal lords grew, becoming increasingly independent political, military, and economic entities. As the Zhou dynasty gradually declined, these feudal states truly began to take on the meaning of "countries." At this time, some politically astute statesmen, to strengthen the consciousness of their feudal states and unify the thoughts and emotions of their people, gave rise to the idea of the "state-centric" principle, which held great historical significance at the time. It allowed the political, economic, and military forces of the feudal states to be effectively strengthened under the banner of the state, especially its application in the economic sphere, which greatly enhanced the power of the feudal states and played a significant role in the subsequent struggle for hegemony. Those states that effectively utilized the state-centric principle gradually gained an advantage in the struggle for hegemony through the comprehensive use of national strength. Therefore, it can be said that the "state-centric" economic ethical principle in The Guanzi aligns with the trend of the times and held progressive significance at the time. However, with the unification of Qin and the strengthening of monarchical centralization, the state became the private domain of a ruling family, and the state-centric principle also transformed into the "monarch" principle. 2. Aligning with the Objectives of Qi's Development and Hegemony. Qi, located to the east of the sea and far from the capital, was not developed in the early stages and required a trustworthy and capable feudal lord to govern it. It was precisely such a remote land that the Zhou dynasty sent the meritorious Jiang Zhongang to rule. Such a state found it difficult to rise, and only by relying on state power, overall control, reasonable regulation, and the use of various economic means could it gradually strengthen its power, improve its national strength, and gain a favorable position in the increasingly intense struggle for hegemony among feudal lords. The Guanzi clearly recognized the crucial importance of the state's economic strength and therefore pointed out, "Without covering the world in wealth, one cannot govern the world." To cover the world in wealth, it is impossible to truly achieve this without the guidance of the state-centric economic ethical principle. Additionally, the early generations of kings of Qi in the Spring and Autumn period were not particularly capable, and the succession of dynasties was very frequent, which severely weakened the national strength of Qi. Qi Huan Gong, with the assistance of his mentor Bao Shu, ascended the throne,, and heavily relied on Guan Zhong, full of ambition to achieve great things. In fact, any ruler who wants to govern a country effectively must prioritize the state over personal whims and not act arbitrarily. The "state-centric" economic ethical principle in The Guanzi is a general method for feudal states to become prosperous, and it is also the necessary path for Qi to achieve prosperity. Therefore, it aligns with the development requirements of Qi. At the same time, Qi's development followed this path, and the results were indeed significant, proving the correctness of this principle. Of course, in authoritarian dynasties, a pure state-centric idea is impractical and does not exist. In those times, the state was merely the representative of the interests of certain groups, and its interests were largely consistent with those of the monarch, or even merged. Therefore, it was impossible to talk about the state's interests without completely violating the monarch's interests. The Guanzi could not completely separate the two, nor could it fundamentally deny the monarch's interests. It was already remarkable enough to prioritize, focus on, and center on the interests of the state. In modern economic ethical research, many agree on dividing the study of economic ethics into three levels. The first is macroeconomic ethics, the second is mesoeconomic ethics, and the third is microeconomic ethics. "Macroeconomic ethics refers to the basic economic ethical principles and norms proposed by the state government in the context of market economy development, based on the overall interests of society, utilizing the government's management functions to promote the coordinated development of political, economic, and social aspects." (Xu Qixian, A Review of Economic Ethical Research—Several Issues in Economic Ethics, originally published in Frontline of Higher Education Theory in 2000.2) Based on this view and considering the general content of the economic ethical thought in The Guanzi, we find that the economic ethical thought in The Guanzi is basically a macroeconomic ethical thought. While reading The Guanzi, it is clear that it primarily addresses problems from the macro perspective of the state, with less focus on the micro level or what is called the meso level. Therefore, for the overall construction of its economic ethical thought system, it seems to lack certain elements, or perhaps the system is somewhat biased, differing from modern economic ethical systems, which give equal importance and depth to both macroeconomic and microeconomic fields. Thus, we can only acknowledge this difference and historical limitation in The Guanzi. Of course, recognizing this difference and historical limitation allows for a more accurate grasp of the content of The Guanzi and its economic ethical thought characteristics. Any economic operation requires corresponding economic control methods. The Guanzi proposes ethical requirements for economic control from an ethical perspective, which is the economic control ethical thought in The Guanzi. Although the economic control ethical thought discussed in this article formally reflects ethical guidance in economic decision-making, economic management, taxation, and other activities, it fundamentally reveals The Guanzi's legal, moral, and humanistic requirements for economic operation, which are essential elements for the ethical operation of the economy. Additionally, the economic ethical thought on economic decision-making, economic management, taxation, and other aspects in The Guanzi is extremely rare throughout ancient thought history. From the following content, we can see that the economic control ethical thought in The Guanzi truly reflects the practical wisdom of those who sought to improve the world, rather than the impractical theories of those who stand by the sidelines. This also reflects another aspect of the unique and extraordinary nature of The Guanzi's economic ethical thought.