MMW 11 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Xiongnu, Taoism, Aristocracy
22 Nov 2016
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Confucians like peasant waiting for another rabbit to run by them and eat it, looking to the past. Rights, music, odes, history, books, cultivation of the self, virtue, filial devotion, brotherly love waste of time. Power of the state resides in its institutions. State and its people have to be subjected to sovereignty of law. No delegation of judgement, no delegation of authority. Define what functions are of each of the state"s agents so that no power is growing in the hands of others outside of the king"s approval. Law has to be public, has to be known to everyone, not subject to interpretation. Role of a judge is just to define the crime: know what the crime is, know how to punish. State itself, at the center, should amass all power to itself: no feudal lords on edges. Human nature evil and it must be governed. Society and the law have to channel the appetites/violence/selfishness of people.
