[Reading the World Through Han Feizi] A World Where Everyone Is Proud to Be Petty

In the face of profit, anyone becomes brave and loses all hesitation

“Eels resemble snakes, and silkworms resemble large worms. When people see a snake, they recoil in shock, and when they see a large worm, they shudder. Yet women pick up silkworms with their hands, and fishermen grasp eels barehanded. Where there is profit, people forget even what they dislike, and all become as brave as Meng Ben (a warrior of Wei) or Zhuan Zhu (a warrior of Wu).” — Han Feizi, “Nei Chu Shuo, Upper”

Though eels resemble snakes, people touch them with bare hands; though silkworms resemble large worms, people do not find them disgusting. Why? Because handling them brings profit. Han Feizi regarded profit-seeking human beings as normal and took human desire for granted. Yet when people think of Eastern philosophy, they usually assume it teaches that desire should be reduced. Many think it tells us to lessen or eliminate the desire for gain.

But Legalism tells a different story. Legalist thinkers affirm human desire as it is. They believed that the desire for profit cannot itself be eliminated. It is part of human nature, and the fact is that people move according to their desires until the day they die. That is why they thought it impossible, in realistic terms, to abolish it. They also believed that the more human desire is denied and suppressed, the weaker national power and economic strength become, and the less development there will be. Han Feizi acknowledged desire. He believed that only when each person’s desires are properly expressed can a wealthy nation and a strong military be achieved. Shang Yang, another Legalist, thought the same way. Legalist thinkers actively affirmed human desire, and when one reads what they say about human nature and mankind’s spontaneous pursuit of profit and desire, one is reminded of a certain father of economics.

“When a master impoverishes his household in order to feed a hired farmhand good food and pay him generous wages, it is not because he loves a servant brought in from outside. It is because only then will the servant plow the fields deeply and weed them diligently. And when the servant exerts himself fully, weeds diligently, and carefully plows evenly, it is not because he loves his master. It is because only then will he be treated to good food and receive ample wages. Their mutual efforts are like those between father and son, yet in every case it is done because each acts for his own sake.” — Han Feizi, “Wai Chu Shuo, Left Upper”

If the source were not given, one could easily believe this was said by Adam Smith. What did Adam Smith say? He said that the reason I can eat bread and obtain meat is not the baker’s benevolence or the butcher’s altruism. It is because of their self-interest—their desire to pursue their own private gain—that I do not go hungry.

Each economic actor works and enters the economic arena out of self-interest—or, more precisely, out of concern for oneself. In doing so, social division of labor and exchange arise. So long as one does not harm others, take what belongs to others, or engage in unfair competition, there is nothing bad whatsoever about pursuing one’s own interests and seeking profit. On the contrary, because each person seeks gain and busily produces, sells, and exchanges in pursuit of profit, the nation becomes wealthy and strong, and even the lower classes are able to obtain necessities.

That is how Adam Smith saw it, and Han Feizi saw it the same way. Each person pursues profit, a social system of division of labor takes shape, and society advances in the process. Every occupation is necessary. And there is no inherent high or low among professions. As long as one does not deceive others, harm others, or engage in unfair trade, every field and profession within the social division of labor deserves respect. Yet Mencius of the Confucian school told a different story.

“How could an arrow-maker be less benevolent than an armor-maker? Yet the arrow-maker fears only that he may fail to wound people, while the armor-maker fears only that people may be wounded. So it is also with shamans and coffin-makers. Therefore one cannot but be careful in choosing an occupation.” — Mencius, “Gongsun Chou I”

In a way characteristic of a Confucian thinker, this reveals discrimination among occupations and a sense of hierarchy. But does not society need arrow-makers, coffin-makers, and shamans as well? Should weapons-makers disappear? Should there be no one to handle funerals, to treat the sick, and to offer counsel? No. To begin with, is it because the arrow-maker is morally corrupt that he hopes his arrows will be powerful? No. It is because of his own interest. The armor-maker hopes that the person wearing the armor will never be injured. That is not because his nature differs from the arrow-maker’s, nor because he possesses some special virtue. It is for his own benefit. Only if the armor is sturdy and the wearer is not hurt can he continue to earn income.

Society needs those who make bows for national defense, and it needs shamans for the sick and the dead. In an environment of division of labor, society functions only when each person works diligently for his own benefit. It is natural—and desirable—that human beings, possessing the desire for gain, sustain their lives while each fulfills a distinct role within the division of labor. Those who pursue profit within that system of division of labor must always be protected. So long as they do not infringe upon others’ interests or harm the public interest, there is no reason to suppress each person’s desire for gain; on the contrary, it ought to be fully respected.

Han Feizi does not speak of the superior man

Han Feizi never tells people to become junzi. On the contrary, he saw not only the junzi but all human beings as xiaoren, beings who can do nothing but remain xiaoren until death. That is because everyone must live in accordance with the human nature of seeking profit and satisfying desire. And what if one is xiaoren? Is there anything wrong with living for oneself, with keeping one’s own interests more firmly in mind than altruism? So long as one does not take what belongs to others, deceive one’s counterpart in exchange, or violate the order of fair competition, there is nothing wrong with a xiaoren living as a xiaoren and pursuing his own desires. On the contrary, would society not develop more if there were many capable xiaoren, diligent xiaoren, promise-keeping xiaoren, xiaoren who, even without altruism, constantly strive to improve productivity and quality in their functional sphere?

Modernity, after all, is a world of xiaoren. I am junzi and you are xiaoren? That kind of dichotomy is a denial of modernity and merely a premodern mindset. Modernity is a world in which everyone is xiaoren, everyone a profit-seeker. But xiaoren and profit-seekers alike must refrain from violating others’ interests just because their own interests matter to them; they must know that others’ spheres are as important as their own. At the same time, distance between people must be maintained. In this way, a human being becomes not merely a human being but an individual. When everyone can live openly and confidently as xiaoren, and when proper distance is maintained among xiaoren, then people live as true individuals—and that is real modernity.

But I do not know whether Korea has truly achieved that kind of modernity. How many people would not bristle at being called xiaoren? Even being called merely a functionary or simply a professional would probably not please many people. In a society that still cannot affirm human desire as it is, could one really say, “I too am a profit-seeker; I too am xiaoren”? Yet as Han Feizi said, and as Adam Smith said, human beings are desire and profit. To pursue my desires within the bounds of goodness and within the framework of norms is not something shameful; in the end, it serves society and serves the nation. So in the new year, why not declare it with confidence? I am xiaoren, and I am a profit-seeker.

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Original title: [한비자로 세상읽기]모두가 당당한 소인(小人)되는 세상

Author: Geon-sun Im

Date: 2020-02-11

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=column&pn=10&idx=22371