Addressing these issues is a simple matter,
but also difficult, because the entities who must address them are complex.
I keep both Tzus handy for whenever I forget.
Think of of derivatives, markets, bankers, politicians, lawyers, clergy .......... and these Tzuisms from more than 2000 yeas ago. Have people changed with western enlightenment, technology, science, literature, and education?
The more laws and restrictions there are,
the poorer people become.
The sharper men's weapons,
the more trouble in the land.
The more ingenious and clever men are,
the more strange things happen.
The more rules and regulations,
the more thieves and robbers. --- Lao Tzu
The invention of weights and measures
makes robbery easier.
signing contracts, setting seals,
makes robbery more sure.
Teaching love and duty
provides a fitting language
with which to prove that robbery
is really for the general good.
A poor man must swing,
for stealing a belt buckle,
But if a rich man steals a whole state
He is acclaimed as statesman of the year.
Hence, if you want to hear the very best speeches
on love, duty, justice, etc.,
listen to statesmen...
and when the statesmen and lawyers
and preachers of duty disappear
There are no more robberies either
And the world is at peace.
Moral: the more you pile up ethical principles
and duties and obligations
To bring everyone in line,
The more you gather loot
For a thief like Khang.
By ethical argument
and moral principle
The greatest crimes are eventually shown
To have been necessary, and, in fact,
A signal benefit to mankind. ---Chuang Tzu, from ‘The Way of Chuang Tzu’ translated by Thomas Merton |
