85、Rule by Benevolence and Righteousness Is Nonsense but by Capital Is Valid and Proper

The core of Chinese traditional culture is the ethics of Confucius benevolence and righteousness and rule by benevolence and righteousness.

Confucius feudal ethics is entirely for realisation of his ideal of rule by benevolence and righteousness, which have promoted political stability and economic development under the condition of lagging productivity in Chinese ancient natural economy of boxing and coxing, creating the ancient civilisation.

But in the internet era of commodity economy and socialised production today, it has become complete obstruct and rubbish, dated back to the industrial revolution.

In accordance with the commodity economy, Western countries invented the individual culture of democracy, freedom, and human rights, against the restraints and constraints, promoting competition of the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest. Every man is for himself and God for all.

The ethics of Confucius benevolence and righteousness are pathetic and ridiculous chains and cages before commodity economy, socialised production, and internet.

The ethics of benevolence and righteousness are against freedom, democracy and human rights.

Benevolence is the kindness between people.

If the capitalists are kind to the labourers, their money will go down the drain. If the labourers are kind to the capitalists, they will go to black brick kilns. If the capitalists are generous to the labourers, they will be crushed and closed down by their competitors due to lagging competitiveness. If the labourers are generous to the capitalists, their family will get separated due to fewer wages and their wives grievance.

The dramatic success of our reform and opening up has proved that rule by capital is valid and proper.

Rule by capital is not a capitalist capitalism, but a state capitalism. State capitalism is focused on rule by capital instead of benevolence and righteousness. There is no benevolence in richness, and vice versa. Benevolence and money can’t be gained both just like the old saying: you can’t burn the candle at both ends.

Rule by benevolence and righteousness and rule by capital are against each other. It doesn’t mean there is no benevolence and righteousness at all in rule by capital. Just as the idea that men are superior to women doesn’t mean maltreatment of all women, but obedience of women to men, so rule by capital means obedience of benevolence and righteousness to capital, with benevolence and righteousness behind capital.

These two concepts are not contradictory, just like the relevance between money and relationship between fathers and sons, couples and friends, officials and civilians, enterprises and workers, country and individuals.

Everything is settled with no conflicts when relating to capital first and then relationship. If relationship is mentioned first and then capital, there will be conflicts and disputes. The relationship between workers in state-owned enterprises and the country is typical.

Workers in state-owned enterprises are only labour owners, while the country is the capital owner. It has the right to fire anyone, no matter how long you have worked here and how much contribution you have made. It is clearly divided that capital and labour are what they are.

In Chinese state-owned enterprises, workers did make it clear that country and family are different, leading to dramatic difficulty in firing a worker. What to do with that?

Where is the honour of the capital of the whole nation? And where is the interest of the whole nation?

The main purpose of the system transformation of state-owned enterprises is to fire spare workers. If it were easy to fire someone in a state-owned enterprise, it would develop well with no need for system transformation and no loss of national capital.

Rule by benevolence and righteousness is the rule by men, while rule by capital is the rule by law.

Lord Ye once told Confucius, ‘There is a righteous men in my hometown who reported that his father have stolen sheep from others.’ But Confucius said, ‘Righteous people in my hometown are different from that you mentioned: a father should conceal things for his son, and a son should conceal thing for his father. That’s where the righteousness lies.’

Confucius thinks if a father has violated the law, his son should conceal it for him, and vice versa. That’s what’s called righteousness. This is typical of the rule by men, with no disciplines and justice.

Modern Chinese are still harbouring this idea. The whole family will help to conceal corruptness of an official, taking bribes and fencing them, in faith of that success is a relative term. It brings so many relatives.

This is what Confucius called the ethics of benevolence and righteousness, which are in practical the rule by men, meaning the higher position of power over law, local protectionism, and partition of national capital, and which are the theoretical basis of officials ganging their own gait with absolute monarch.

Why Chinese local officials are trying their best to stop petitioners? In Confucius opinion, petition is evil for it is against the local interest and the ethics of benevolence and righteousness.

Local official are who they are. No matter you admit it or not, at least they feel good about themselves.

Petition is to report your parent, which is against courtesy and filial piety, and which is the worst offense. And it should be brought to justice and punished to warn the others and protect the reason.

China’s disasters are rooted in Confucius. Rule by capital should clarify the ownership of capital to be strictly protected. It should be identified by law yours is yours, mine is mine, and what belong to the country is its property.

Rule by law means what belongs to you won’t be reduced even by a penny, and what does won’t be given. Legislation is needed first in the rule of law, which is not aimed at punishing people, but clarifying the relationship of property to be strictly protected and then protecting your own interest according to the law.

You have your rights to protect, I have mine, and the country has its. The property law is such a law that there shall be a clarification of the relationship of property regardless of the quarrels. Everything should be settled with no mistake that what belongs to the country, capitalists, workers, respectively, because quarrels are endless and useless.

Ignorant, backward, and filthy, Chinese people have wasted too much time on quarrels and spent all their thoughts on petty benefits. People are always thinking about taking what doesn’t belong to them into their own pockets, such as corrupt officials, couples, parents and children, and workers in state-owned and private enterprises who can’t get too much not because they don’t want to.

Conflicts among peoples are in practical fight over capital, money, and interest.

As the old saying goes, ‘Hundreds of people chase a running rabbit, while never take a look at the rabbits on market when passing, which is not because they don’t want the rabbit, but there are no room for argument in settled distribution.’

Settled distribution with no room for argument can be achieved by legislation, making the society stable, active, and optimistic.

This is the main idea of the ancient legalists, which is also the basic law of modern capitalist countries: ‘The wind may blow through it, the storm may enter, the rain may enter, but the King of England cannot enter.’

It is by such firm faith in protecting property that capitalists pour all their energy into producing and labouring, leading to today’s advanced and modern civilisation.

So rule by capital is the rule by law, while rule by benevolence and righteousness is the rule by men. The ethics of benevolence and righteousness is rubbish in governing, which is only useful when used in text books to cheat little kids. Adults are talking about rule by law.