The Book of Lord Shang: Difference between revisions
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The book expounds on how one should run a state. The main points are to keep the people occupied with agriculture, war, and nothing else. Trade should be heavily taxed to avoid people gaining money and merit by means other than farming and fighting. The law should provide far more punishments than rewards, and the punishments for minor offenses should be severe so as to discourage anyone from [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]] into more serious crimes. However, there are some palatable arguments; the authors maintain that promotion and advancement should be based entirely on merit, and have nothing to do with [[Nepotism|one's family]] or other circumstances. They also advocate that all people, from the Emperor to the lowest peasant, should be treated equally by the law.
In direct contrast to the prevailing Confucian school, the Legalists believed that [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|humans are naturally lazy, corrupt, petty, and wicked]], hence the emphasis on punishment to be found throughout the book. It is worth noting that Legalism was the guiding philosophy of the Qin dynasty, which ruled over all China for just 15 years, from 221 to 206BC. After the Emperor died, they were replaced with the Han dynasty, who did make use of Legalist ideas, but extensively tempered them with Confucian notions.
Compare and contrast ''[[The Prince]]''.
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