Huainanzi - Entry 14

The reason why leaders are set up is to eliminate violence and quell disorder. Now they take advantage of the power of the people to become plunderers themselves. They are like winged tigers -- why shouldn't they be eliminated? If you want to raise fish in a pond, you have to get rid of otters; if you want to raise domestic animals, you have to get rid of wolves -- how much the more so when governing people!
~ a passage from The Book of Leadership and Strategy by Thomas Cleary ~

Isn't it interesting that the words of the Chinese Masters so closely resemble the complaints of the Occupy Wall Street movement? Our governments -- in cahoots with the financial elites -- are plundering the people. These elites are behaving like otters in a pond and wolves among livestock.

All this goes to show is that the power inequalities in society haven't changed all that much in more than two thousand years. The critique lodged by the Chinese Masters in the 2nd century BCE isn't that much different than today's protesters out in the streets.

Why is it that we seem to be stuck in the same place? For all of our so-called progress, we apparently haven't progressed all that much.

Will this problem turn out to be an immovable barrier OR will humankind figure out a way around this proverbial impasse?

Time will tell!

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