The Greeks and Taoism

1. The Greeks and Taoism Reference: Rothbard I: 1

2. The First Philosophers • It all begun, as usual, with the Greeks • The first civilized people to use REASON to think systematically about the world around them, rather than attributing natural events to arbitrary creation of gods.

3. Three Generations • Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle • Polis: even in most “democratic” polis, Athen, only 7% of people have the privileges. • Plato: three trials for Syracuse and 9 of his students succeeded in establishing themselves as tyrants over Greek city states. • Aristotle: after 20 years of study in Plato’s Academy, tutored Alexander the Great (died in age of 33).

4. For Plato and Aristotle, “the good” was naturally pursued by the Polis, not the individual person. • Virtue and “good life” were polis- , rather than individual-oriented. • They were statist and elitist. Their philosophy never arrived at the later elaboration, first in the Middle Ages and then in 17th and 18th century, of the “natural rights” of the individual which may not be invaded by man or by government.

5. Elitist: contempt for labor and for trade, pursuing military arts and agriculture. • The Greek elevation of the Polis over the individual led to their taking a dim view of economic innovation and entrepreneurship. • Their kind of social ideal was designed to promote a frozen society of politically determined status, and certainly not a society of creative and dynamic individuals and innovators.

6. Plato’s Collectivist Utopia • The Republic: • Philosopher: kings and their philosophic colleagues maintain oligarchic rule, ensuring the community ruled by the best and wisest. • Guardian: defend polis • People: despised producers • Two ruling classes are forced to live under pure communism, with no private property, including women and children. • Money and private possessions corrupt virtue • Marriage partners are selected by the state. (personal happiness means nothing compared to the happiness of the polis) • “noble” lie: the elites are descended from the gods whereas other classes are of inferior heritage.

7. Contribution of Plato in economic thought • The first to analyze the importance of the division of labor. • Plato points out that this division of labor increases the production of all the goods.

8. Xenophon • Plato’s student • Anticipation of Adam Smith’s famous dictum: the extent of the division of labor is necessarily limited by the extent of the market for the products. • The difference between small and large towns

9. Aristotle: private property • Private property is more productive and will therefore lead to progress. People neglect other’s interest. • Plato’s arguments for communal property is that it is conducive to social peace, since no one will be envious of, or try to grab the property of, another. Aristotle: people will complain that they have worked harder and obtained less than others who have done little and taken more from the common store.

10. Private property had existed always and everywhere. To impose communal property on society would be to disregard the record of human experience. Abolishing private property would probably create more problems than it would solve. • A brilliant insight: only private property furnishes people with the opportunity to act morally, e.g. to practice the virtues of benevolence and philanthropy. The compulsion of communal property would destroy that opportunity.

11. On interest • Since money cann’t be USED directly, thus it is “barren” and can’t increase wealth. Therefore, charging of interest was strongly condemned as contrary to nature.

12. On value and exchange • Builder and shoemaker: seems to be equal value. • A forerunner of labor theory of value (of Marxism) • Austrian: reverse inequality. • Discussion: two piles of shits.

13. Post-Aristotle • Collapse of economic thought • Cicero: Alexander the Great and the pirate

14. Taoism • 法家、道家及儒家 • 法家：相信国家至高无上的权力，劝告统治者去扩大权力 • 道家：世界上第一个自由主义者，绝对信仰国家对于经济和社会的完全不干预 • 儒家：中间立场

15. 老子 • 单个人的幸福是社会的关键，如果社会制度束缚了个人的繁荣和幸福，这些制度应该被削减或废除。 • 在人为的禁忌与限制越多的地方，人民越贫困，在法律和规则越被赋予重要性的地方，盗贼与抢劫犯越多。 • 最坏的政府干预措施是沉重的税赋和战争。 • 最聪明的办法是使政府保持简单和无为，世界自己就实现稳定了。

16. 《道德经》 • 有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立不改，周行而不殆，可以为天地母。吾不知其名，强字之曰道，强为之名曰大。 • 人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。 • 民之饥，以其上食税之多 • 天之道，损有余而补不足，人之道则不然，损不足以奉有馀

17. 为无为，则无不治。因为“道”，“无为”会转化为“有为”。虽然主观上不以取得利益为目的，客观上却可以更好地实现利益。为无为，则无不治。因为“道”，“无为”会转化为“有为”。虽然主观上不以取得利益为目的，客观上却可以更好地实现利益。 • 天地无人推而自行，日月无人燃而自明，星辰无人列而自序，禽兽无人造而自生，此乃自然为之也，何劳人为乎？－－自发秩序？ • 大道自然，何须强自静。行无求而自松，饮无奢而自清，卧无欲而自宁。修身何需深宅？腹饥而食，体乏而息，日出而作，日落而寝。居家何需众役？顺自然而无为，则神安体健；背自然而营营，则神乱而体损。

18. 庄子 • 世界上只有让人类独立存在这回事，决没有成功地管理人类这回事。 • 当事情任其自由自在时，好的秩序便天然的产生了。 • 如果统治者建立规矩去管理人民，那将无异于将鸭的短肢拉长，将苍鹭的长腿截短。 • 世界根本不需要管理，事实上，它不应该被管理。 • 个人无政府主义

19. 人皆知有用之用，而莫知无用之用也。 • 彼窃钩者诛，窃国者为诸侯。 • 庄子与惠子游于濠梁之上。庄子曰：“鯈鱼出游从容，是鱼之乐也？”惠子曰：“子非鱼，安（焉）知鱼之乐？”庄子曰：“子非我，安（焉）知我不知鱼之乐？”惠子曰：“我非子，固不知子矣；子固非鱼也，子之不知鱼之乐，全矣。”

20. 鲍敬言 • 两晋，绝对无政府主义思想家 • 远古之世，人们本无尊卑，“穿井而饮，耕田而食，日出而作，日入而息”，后来，人类有了强弱、智愚之分，出现了强智欺凌弱愚的现象,于是“君臣之道起焉”。这既非天意,亦非民愿，儒家所谓“天生民而树之君”之说是欺人之谈。 • “无道之君，无世不有，肆其虐乱，天下无邦。忠良见害于内，黎民暴骨于外”。这些暴君如果是普通百姓，“性虽凶奢，安得施之？”他们之所以能够“肆酷恣欲,屠割天下”,正因为他们是君主。君主是一切罪恶之源，所以“古者无君，胜于今世”。

21. 普通人的争执仅仅是微小的琐事，而国王的盛怒可以让他排兵布阵，令没有仇恨的人们去攻击没有做错任何事情的国家。普通人的争执仅仅是微小的琐事，而国王的盛怒可以让他排兵布阵，令没有仇恨的人们去攻击没有做错任何事情的国家。 • 鲍敬言忽略了好多和仁慈的统治者的存在？他的回答：政府本身就是强者对弱者的暴力剥削，这个体制就是问题所在。政府的目标并不是造福于人民，而是要控制和掠夺他们。没有任何一个统治者的德行可以与在无统治的情况相比。

22. 国家产生的制度化的暴力的存在导致了人民中间对于暴力的模仿。国家产生的制度化的暴力的存在导致了人民中间对于暴力的模仿。 • 那种认为强大的政府对于防止人民中间出现混乱是必须的想法，是犯了严重的因果混淆的错误。

23. 司马迁 • 探讨自由市场的活动，专业化和分工以一种有序的方式对市场生产的物品和服务产生影响。就象水往低处流，物品会自然而来，只要每个人在自己的职业上工作。 • 不赞成限制人的欲望的思想，与道家不同。