The Useless Tree

Just to be clear about it: Neither China nor the US is a Confucian country

     The annual report from Amnesty International on executions is out and, to no surprise, China leads the list with the US taking fifth place.  To me, this points to a fundamental similarity between the two places, however much nationalists on both sides are now asserting fundamental differences.  Both governments embrace the death penalty in a manner reminiscent of Han Fei Tzu, who said: "The enlightened leader is never over-liberal in his rewards, never over-lenient in his punishments." (20)   What an extraordinarily distorted notion of enlightenment compared to Confucianism and Taoism.

      If anyone wants to argue that China’s number one place in world wide executions distinguishes it morally from the US, just remember that the US takes the number one spot worldwide in incarcerations.   Yes, it might be better to be alive in prison than dead on the execution ground, but American critics would do well to look at their own society and ask why we rely so heavily on imprisonment, before criticizing China on the question of executions.

     It all makes me rather pessimistic.  Why is it that the Humanity of Confucianism – or Christianity, which also tells us to not kill –  gets historically pushed aside by the more brutal and futile (futile in the sense that violence begets violence) Legalism or realism or whatever we want to call it?  Are we, ultimately, incapable of Humane government?  Is there something about us that lead us away from Humanity.  Chuang Tzu denies a common human nature, but he does say this:

Games of skill and cleverness begin in a light mood, but they always end up dark and serious.  And if things go far enough, it’s nothing but guile.  Drinking at ceremonies begins orderly enough, but it always ends up wild and chaotic.  And if things go far enough, it’s nothing but debauchery.  All our human affairs seem to work like this.  However sincerely they begin, they end in vile deceit.  And however simply they begin, the grow enormously complex before they’re over. (55)

      Maybe that is the same for government: it starts out idealistic and sincere but ends up in "vile deceit," the deceit that leads us to embrace strict laws and harsh punishments and reproduce the pessimism and cynicism of Legalism.

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4 responses to “Just to be clear about it: Neither China nor the US is a Confucian country”

  1. Bill Avatar
    Bill

    It is futile to find a “confucian country”. No country can be completely “confucian”, even when Confucius was running the show.
    You may be able to find glimpses of deeds, words, and actions by individuals that are close to be “confucian”. And even when that happen, you are still not sure whether it is really “confucian”, because you have to varify the motive of such actions. For example, when a man is being dutiful to his parents. The action is “confucian”. But if the motive is so that his parent will give him privileged treatment, then the action is not “confucian”.

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  2. isha Avatar
    isha

    Hopefully, Italy’s newly democratically re-elected Prime Minster will provide the world with the much needed humane leadership as he has a track record in condemning inhumane behavior from totalitarian countries. ( source..bbc)
    Mr. Berlusconi, are you feeling OK? They say you’ve gone a little bit crazy.
    If you read Italian newspapers, you’ll understand the electoral campaign and how the communist left always uses the same method. Communist parties, when they didn’t have any more arguments, used to say that who opposed them was crazy and put him in a mental hospital.
    “I never actually said that communists eat children,” he told the bemused audience of European right-wingers on Wednesday, “but it’s a fact,” he said, “that the Chinese used to boil babies and use them as fertilizer.”
    http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/07/i_c.01.html
    That IS the highest point of Western civilization!

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  3. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    Human life is limited, but knowledge is limitless. To drive the limited in pursuit of the limitless is fatal; and to presume that one really knows is fatal indeed! (Chuang Tzu, The Book of Chang Tzu)
    How often do governments believe that they know a better way. It was understood by the framers of the American Constitution that unchecked, even the best laid plans can and often do go to ruin. They did their best to implement checks and balances. But this was still not enough! Jefferson said, “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [i.e., securing inherent and inalienable rights, with powers derived from the consent of the governed], it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” Declaration of Independence, 1776. ME 1:29, Papers 1:315
    Nothing will change the misdirected US Government but another rebellion and that will never happen without much bloodshed.
    In other words, I think that nothing will ever change.

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  4. zoomzan Avatar
    zoomzan

    Tim,
    Finally someone who understands limited government and constitutional rights!

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