Huainanzi - Entry 9

The laws of a dysfunctional society makes measures high and punish those who do not reach; they make responsibilities heavy and penalize those who cannot bear them; they make difficulties dangerous and execute those who cannot face them.
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

I don't know about you, but one of the things I have found so interesting about the Huainanzi is that, more than any other of the classic Taoist works, this one could have easily been written in contemporary times. The topics that we have dealt with to this point reflect the kinds of issues we still contend with today!

This snippet, for example, illustrates how the strong have victimized the weak all throughout history. The societal problems the Chinese Masters wrote about in the 2nd century BCE are not that different than what today's underclass must deal with day in and day out.

It also points to the notion that this may always be a problem for human civilization. In many ways, we haven't progressed all that much in over 2,000 years. It wouldn't surprise me that in another 2,000 years -- IF humanity lasts that long -- future generations will look back to this era and remark, "Hey, they're dealing with the same basic issues that we are!"

To read the introduction to this ongoing series, go here.