politics

Chapter 81 Appendix I (1)
Book Chapter Summary
Volume [-] on the family

([-]) Chapters [-] and [-]: Introduction to Human Groups

Chapter [-] Human groups have their own purposes, and they are organized and governed in different ways.Political associations are for the realization of good deeds and have the highest purpose.

Chapter [-] uses analysis and traceability research methods to narrate the development history of families and villages until they become city-states.The city-state as a political group not only expanded human sources of economic self-sufficiency, but also raised their demands on moral life.By nature, man is a political animal.In terms of purpose, the status of the city-state is higher than the family, higher than the individual, and it should be the realization of the natural purpose of life.

([-]) Chapters [-] to [-]: The family and its composition

Chapter three city-states were developed from families.The family includes three pairs of ethical relationships: master-slave, husband and wife, and father and son.Housekeeping mainly lies in managing production.

Chapter [-] On Slaves: The Household Consists of Two Kinds of Housekeeping Instruments: Animate and Inanimate.Slaves are living tools that can be used.

Chapter [-] Naturally, all things generally have masters and slaves. For example, the soul is the master of the body, and the body is the slave of the soul.Anyone who has only physical strength but lacks reason should be the "natural slave" of a rational person.However, things in the world are sometimes contrary to natural routines, and the physical strength and rationality of the master may not be better than the slave.

Chapter [-] The emergence of "forced slavery" ("statutory slavery") comes from the long-standing habits of human society. Some people think it is in line with common sense and some people think it is against common sense. There is no consensus on this.As for the "natural" master-slave relationship formed out of the difference between physical and mental strengths, it is beneficial to both parties, which is moral.

Chapter [-] The master-slave relationship is different from the rule of free people. How to treat slaves and teach them to do chores is not difficult for the master to learn through learning, so there is no need to elaborate here.

Chapter [-] On Property and the Various Means of Acquiring Property: Nature provides man with the objects necessary for life.The head of the family obtains what is needed from nature through hunting, animal husbandry, farming, etc. to provide for the family. This is an economic way of life that is in line with nature.The needs of each family are limited, so the real wealth (industry) should also be limited.

Chapter IX emerges from the primitive trade of barter as money as an intermediary.The circulation of money facilitated the development of commerce and money-lending as a means of getting rich.Money is not the real wealth necessary for life; and it is unnatural for merchants and moneylenders to amass money without limit, unlike the various finite industries which secure the necessaries of the family.

Chapter [-] After obtaining the family's needs by the means of managing the property, the housekeeping management arranges these harvests for appropriate consumption, so that the whole family can live comfortably.According to the needs of making a living, the head of the family should focus on farming and animal husbandry that is in line with nature.Seeking goods for the sake of goods and lending money to collect interest are the worst social and economic activities.

Chapter XI deals with the categories of various ways of acquiring property and their practical study.Several examples of obtaining huge profits by virtue of monopoly.

Chapter [-] discusses couples, fathers and sons, and family management: the country is like a family, the relationship between husband and wife is similar to the relationship between a politician and the free people governed by him, and the relationship between father and son is similar to the relationship between a king and his subjects.

Chapter [-] Housework management focuses on cultivating good character, and its purpose is to make the whole family have good character.The moral standards of the master and the slave are different. The master, the husband, and the father are different from the slave, the wife, and the children.Although slaves are irrational, they are different from animals and can respond to reason. The master should also teach slaves with benevolence; as for freedom and subordination, such as the education of women and children, we will talk about it later (Volume VII, XVI-XVII).

Book Two: On the Ideal City-State and the Good City-State
([-]) Chapters [-] to [-]: The Ideal City-State

Chapter [-] Comments on the political ideal in Plato's "Utopia": People who participate in political groups must have something in common.Plato advocated the abolition of family and private property, and the wife and all property should be fully returned to the public.

Chapter [-] on wives’ public education: Plato’s proposition lies in refuting private ownership and advocating public ownership, and striving for the unity of the city-state.But all things in nature develop due to differentiation; different people in a city-state contribute differently, so they can satisfy each other, and a city-state that pursues unity too much will not be self-sufficient.

Chapter [-] Plato's means to achieve unity are also wrong.Human selfishness will not disappear because of the abolition of the private property system, and more property disputes will occur in groups that implement public ownership.As for the public education of wives to make everyone a father and son, it will lead to the loss of family affection between people.People seek what they want, and the desire to reproduce comes from biological nature, and political laws cannot destroy natural nature after all.

Chapter [-]’s idea of ​​public education for wives is more likely to encounter various difficulties in the implementation details; if the father, son and brother do not know each other, human relations will be as weak as water, and crimes that violate ethics will not be distinguishable from ordinary crimes.Procedures such as class conversion proposed by Plato are impractical.

Chapter [-] discusses public ownership of property: Compared with the ownership and application of property under public ownership, private property and common use are more appropriate; private property can enable it to be managed more carefully, and mutual aid can cultivate people's benevolence.Property disputes between people are rooted in the viciousness of human beings; public ownership of property can neither eliminate human viciousness nor unify the will of the masses. Only by eliminating human viciousness through education can the city-state be unified.

Chapter [-] comments on the political ideal in Plato's "Laws": The ideal city-state assumed here is closer to reality and has a larger territory.Although he no longer advocated the public ownership of wives and property, there were still fallacies in it: the regulations on the equalization of property he proposed ignored the quota of each family's property and the limitation of population growth; the republic system he proposed did not properly adjust the various elements of the city-state; The proposed method of elections favors an oligarchy.

Chapter [-] comments on the legal system of Phareya: The main purpose of the legal system of Phareya is to equalize the estate.The average estate must limit population growth and first determine the appropriate amount of assets per household.To make the people avoid evil and turn to good, and limit the amount of their property by law, it is better to improve their moral quality through education.Phalayan legal system puts too much emphasis on material factors.

Chapter [-] Comments on Xipu Dharma's legal system: Xipu Dharma's legal system always respects the number "three". The people are divided into three levels, the land is divided into three departments, and the laws are divided into three departments.He also proposed several other new laws, such as the creation of rewards that would promote change.Outdated and ineffective laws and regulations should be discarded, but etiquette and law all have their origins and should not be easily changed.

([-]) Chapters [-] to [-]: The modern city-states with more refined politics

Chapter [-] discusses the Spartan regime: people engaged in public affairs (ruling class) must have free time, and the slave system can guarantee citizens’ leisure time: Sparta is farmed by Helutai (serfs), so everyone can participate in official duties and devote themselves to war .Spartan women were extravagant and arrogant, and wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few.The Overwatch Council, the House of Elders, the two-kingdom system, and the banquet regulations all have their own points of criticism.Spartan legislation was based on martial arts, which would have bad consequences.Finances will also be in trouble.

Chapter [-] on the Cretan regime: The regime of the city-states of Crete is very similar to that of Sparta, and more primitive than that of Sparta.The banquet system is better than Sparta, but the supervision system is slightly inferior to Sparta.The members of the ruling group in Crete were narrow-minded and multi-partisan, and often had internal strife. However, the island was isolated from the sea and had few foreign troubles since ancient times, so it was able to have no major troubles for a long time.

Chapter Eleven discusses the Carthaginian regime: The Carthaginian regime is similar to the Spartan regime and has many advantages.It is based on the aristocratic regime and has the characteristics of both civilian and oligarchic regimes. Its biggest disadvantage is that it attaches too much importance to wealth; fame and status can be obtained through bribery, and corruption of officials is common, and most of them hold multiple positions.The poor are often moved to the colonial areas to make them rich, so the country is quite safe.

Chapter [-] Among the previous legislators, Solon, who was created for Athens, can be regarded as a sage. He has the ambition to realize democracy and implement a new generation of new policies, while at the same time preserving traditional morality and not abandoning good rules.Discuss the origin of the legalists and the notes of some legislators.

Volume [-] Theory of Citizenship and Government

([-]) Chapters [-] to [-]: On Citizenship
Chapter [-] Since a city-state is a group of citizens, we should first understand the nature of citizens.Residency and legal rights, or being a descendant of a citizen, are not sufficient to constitute citizenship; political rights are the real condition of citizenship.In a civilian government, "as long as you are a citizen, you have the right to participate in deliberative, judicial and administrative institutions for life."As far as the general government is concerned, "as long as they are citizens" can participate in judicial and deliberative institutions within a certain period of time.

Chapter [-] According to the convention, only the descendants of both parents can become citizens.After experiencing the revolution, many people were able to become naturalized as new citizens. Although they were not a family, they were actually a citizen since they had acquired political rights according to the above definition.

Chapter [-] Some people say that people who become new citizens due to the household registration policy of the revolutionary government cannot be regarded as true citizens of the city-state.Therefore, we should discuss the identity of the city-state.People do not identify city-states by their walls, nor do they identify city-states by the race within them.A city-state is a composition. People recognize it as a composition according to its composition, and we should also recognize its identity from its composition—political system.

Another question that should be discussed in Chapter [-] is: "Is the character of a good citizen equal to the character of a good man?" Different regimes have different purposes, but they all need good citizens who are consistent with their purposes.Although in an ideal city-state, different political functions also have different virtues, but the virtues possessed by the good people all over the world are the same.So good citizens are not necessarily good people.Only an ideal city-state with a political system that is governed by turns, in which citizens must possess the qualities of both the ruler and the ruled, and everyone must have the four virtues: here, good citizens are equal to good people.

Chapter [-] Although artisans and laborers are indispensable to a city-state, they do not possess the virtues that good citizens should have, and should not be registered as citizens.However, different political regimes often have different household registration policies. Aristocratic regimes generally do not allow artisans to become citizens, while oligarchy regimes stipulate that wealthy craftsmen can become citizens.As for civilian city-states, if the household registration decreases and the country needs soldiers, it will generally relax the policy and admit craftsmen.

([-]) Chapters [-] to [-]: discussing the regime and listing its categories
The classification of regimes in chapter six is ​​based on the purpose and form of regimes established by them. (1) In terms of purpose, any regime that considers the common interests of the people of the state and enables the people to live a high-quality life is called an authentic regime; conversely, a regime that only serves the interests of the ruling class is classified as an abnormal regime.

Chapter VII (2) As far as the form of regime is concerned, authentic regimes can be divided into three types: monarchy (royal system), aristocracy and republic according to whether the ruling class is composed of one person, a minority or a majority, and abnormal regimes are correspondingly Divided into three types of tyrants, oligarchs and civilian regimes.

Chapter [-] However, the classification of political power is not only the number of rulers, but also the social class divided by the amount of assets is the basis of political power: the oligarchy is really the rule of the rich, while the civilian government is the rule of the poor.The number of them is an attribute of class distinction, not the essence of class distinction.

([-]) Chapters [-] to [-]: Allocation of citizenship and political rights

——Principles of Oligarchy and Commonwealth Construction

Chapter [-] Various regimes hold different conceptions of justice: populists believe that people of equal origin (both free men) should have the same rights.Oligarchs believe that when wealth is not evenly distributed, people have different rights.The purpose of the city-state is not only to ensure the survival of human beings, but also to achieve a common high-quality life. Citizens will definitely contribute to this purpose and obtain corresponding rights according to the degree of contribution.Although blood (birth) or wealth are necessary for the survival of a city-state, they cannot alone achieve a high-quality life for the entire state. It is prejudice to use either of them as the basis for justice.

Chapter [-] Whether the supreme governance of the city-state should be entrusted to the common people, a few wealthy families, a few nobles, or the most dominant person or tyrant is extremely difficult to determine.It is also difficult to say that the supreme ruling power should not be entrusted to any one or several people, but only to the law.

(End of this chapter)