Chapter 17 Laozi curve

Published in "SOHO Tabloid" Issue 5, 2009 Talk time: July 24, 2009 It is not certain that if a thousand people read Lao Tzu, they will read a thousand Lao Tzu.But if one hundred people solve Lao Tzu, one hundred Lao Tzu must be solved.Not to mention further, there are many people today who understand Lao Tzu, but it is true that each person has one Lao Tzu.There are Gaoming Laozi, Chen Guying, Yin Zhenhuan, Li Ling, Zhian, Liu Xiaogan, Wang Meng, etc.By the way, there is also a unique old man Yang Peng.Today we will see another version of Lao Tzu's interpretation, which is extremely wonderful.

Lao Tzu has about 5,000 words, more than one name.It is generally considered to be "advice" or "edmonition" to the ruler.Ancient Greece and Rome both had this tradition, and Xenophon had "The Education of Cyrus" and "Sierro or Tyranny".On this point, the classical writers are inseparable from each other, regardless of China and foreign countries.Carefully read Confucius' works, including Mencius' writings, and all of them are speaking to the ruler.Another common point in the speeches of classical writers is that while educating the monarch, they also offered a political plan for the Utopia.Plato's works are simply called.As it stands now, we can't dismiss them all as utopian whims.

Li Dan has his ideal country, but it is not a "small country with few people" as commonly understood, otherwise he would not have his saying that "governing a big country is like cooking a small fish".But Li Dan's utopia is different from that of many sages. It has indeed been practiced more than once in history.Like the "Rule of Wenjing" in the Han Dynasty and the "Rule of Zhenguan" in the Tang Dynasty.Who has ever seen the Utopia of Confucius and Mencius on the ground?Or Plato's Utopia?Lao Tzu is unusual.This may be the reason why Lao Tzu and his words have received more attention from home and abroad than other Chinese sages.

The origin of Western thought, there are political plans that speak for the ruler (Plato), but there are also those who speak for the common people (Jesus).The subsequent history of the West developed and corrected along these two lines.In comparison, China seems to have only the option of speaking for the rulers.But the ruler does not buy anyone's account, only considers his own gains and losses and interests.The paradox of Chinese history is not only in the classical period, but also in modern times.Laozi's scheme seems to be one of the origins of all these paradoxes.It's more like a trap.

Li Dan is smart, and some rulers in history are also smarter. Most of them are stupid, foolish, and confused, and they don't understand what Lao Tzu said.They even thought that Laozi's plan was a trap for them to pursue happiness. Laozi and what it is, today we invite the sage Wu Si to talk about his version of Laozi. Before launching Lao Tzu, can you explain to everyone the basic situation, such as the version, Lao Tzu's interpretation of popular routes, etc., so that readers can prepare before entering your question. I know a thing or two about the version, and the number of interpretation methods is limited, so don't be shy.

We used to use the so-called "Jinben", famous editions, such as those annotated by Wang Bi, those annotated by Gong Heshang, and those annotated by Fu Yi of the Tang Dynasty.The oldest one is Guodian Chu Bamboo Slips, with more than 2,000 characters, probably before 300 BC.There are two versions of the Mawangdui silk script: Version A and Version B.There is a gap of about 30 years between A and B, with the former around 200 BC and the latter around 170 BC. Why do you read on the computer instead of reading directly? I compared and pasted two versions on the computer, one silk book and one modern.It is more convenient to go back and forth on the computer, and it is easy to classify.There are a total of 81 chapters. If you read them in the order of the 81 chapters, you will not be able to straighten out the internal logical relationship anyway.It would be nice if the logical relationship of three or five chapters can be said to be smooth.There is a lot of repetition, talking upside down.Then I thought, isn’t this just a collection of aphorisms, a collection of aphorisms.Neither the logic of the narrative nor the logic of the thesis, arguments, or whatever.Since it is a collection of sayings, I can reclassify it according to the content.Using a computer to read Lao Tzu is to reclassify.

The purpose of your classification is to completely convert Lao Tzu's aphorism? On the contrary, I want to edit the collection of aphorisms into an article. Different chapters say different things, and I will finish it, and I won’t repeat it later.For this reason, the chapters that originally had a logical relationship were dismantled, and many chapters originally had a logical relationship, but only three or four chapters, at most four or five chapters. This is not the case much. Since there are not many, let's rearrange it.According to the original arrangement, it can make people dizzy.I read it five or six times and still can't figure out what Lao Tzu said.

I also feel this way.After reading and reading, it is very difficult to make a summary of Lao Tzu's thought, how many parts, what is mainly discussed.Like you said, because it repeats every other period.Your classification reading method is a very good idea.According to what standard classification? When I was thinking about history, I found that there is a relationship between two things: the interests of the rulers, and the freedom they give to the common people, there is a direct proportional relationship between the two.For example, let the common people operate independently, free trade, and give them more freedom. At the same time, the rulers restrict themselves and reduce their actions, such as the monopoly of salt and iron, and open them up to the private sector, such as the well field system, collective labor, and individual farms.After doing this, the common people will become rich, and the life of the ruler will be easier, with peace of mind, and tax revenue will also increase.I just want to show this relationship with a curve.Let me draw it for you to see: (Picture 1)

This is called the Laffer Curve. An American economist told the President of the United States about the relationship between tax rates and total tax revenue. When he was talking about this relationship, he drew such a thing for the President on a napkin.This is the total amount of tax (ordinate), and this is the tax rate (abscissa).The tax rate is increased, and the total tax revenue is also increased. 10% tax, for example, 1 billion, 20% tax, 2 billion, 25% tax, can you still collect 2.5 billion?What about 2.3 billion and 35% tax?It became 2 billion again. What about 70%?It becomes a little more than 1 billion, 100% tax, there is no tax.No one farms the land anymore, because you will take it away when it is dry.

It is the same principle when the ruler collects taxes, or when bandits rob things. If the rate of robbery exceeds a certain point, the rate of robbery will continue to increase, and you will get less things. If you exhaust the pond and fish, you will end up with nothing. right.It's a line. Inspired by this line, I thought of another thing. I named this line "Lao Tzu Curve". This line describes the relationship between "legal reward" and freedom. Income, if you engage in monopoly, you will have monopoly profits. Legislative taxation and adjustment of tax rates will also have corresponding benefits. (Figure II)

But regulatory benefits are more complicated than tax rates. The system does not necessarily take things directly, such as establishing people's communes, engaging in unified purchase and marketing, and closing the free market.When doing these things, the ruler's institutional income is the legal reward.Conversely, the part that is free from restrictions and regulations is freedom. The meaning of the Laozi curve is: if the freedom of the people increases—a large contract, what farmers like to grow, free planting, free trade, and liberalization of restrictions, then the legal rewards of the rulers will also increase.Farmers' enthusiasm is mobilized, grain production increases, and tax revenue can be increased. Not only tax revenue will increase, but control costs will also decrease. Going further down, government-run enterprises are also liberalized, contracted, and the large and small are released. The profits of enterprises will increase and financial subsidies can be reduced.When freedom increases further, for example, the foreign trade and financial fields are liberalized, the overall economic efficiency improves, and the legal remuneration of the rulers also further increases. There is a direct proportional relationship between the two, and the curve goes up. But when it comes to the highest point, freedom increases. For example, the people have the right to know, the right to supervise, and the right to vote.The leftovers that it ate into its mouth by regulations gradually disappeared.What is legal remuneration?All taxes, less public expenditure, the remainder is legal remuneration. Your legal remuneration is the ruler's profit? violent profits. If there is no violence, free contracts, ordinary people make transactions with the government, and the people pay taxes in exchange for the public services of the government, taking from the people and using them for the people, naturally there will be no surplus.If the freedom reaches 100 points, and even political freedom is given to the common people, then the legal reward is zero.If the ruler is dishonest, takes bribes and eats surplus, the people can elect him. At this time, the "legal remuneration" is equal to outright public expenditure. There is no surplus in public expenditure.It is to take it from the people and use it for the people. What does Laozi curve mean?In the first half, the relationship between the ruler and the people has common interests, and the two sides are consistent.At the high point, it starts to part ways. This is to increase freedom, and the other is to increase legal rewards. Yes, it's consistent.But after crossing the highest point, the common people still want to continue to increase their freedom, especially political freedom, and the legal rewards of the rulers will decrease. What does Lao Tzu say at this time?The policy of fooling the people came out.Laozi said a few words about the policy of obscuring the people. Not much. not much.There are only three or four paragraphs if there is a direct conflict with the common people.The third chapter says: "It is the rule of a sage, emptying his heart, filling his belly, weakening his mind, strengthening his bones, constantly making the people ignorant and without desire, making the husband know what he dares, and not doing anything, then everything will be ruled." That's it." That's the first paragraph.Keep the people in a state of ignorance and desirelessness.Lao Tzu refused to go down with the people and began to suppress the people. Further down, Chapter 12: "It is the rule of a sage, for the stomach and not for the eyes." Don't let people see the five colors, listen to the five sounds, and taste the five flavors.control the desires of the people.He also said: "Those who are good in ancient times are the way, not to enlighten the people, but to fool them", which is straightforward to fool the people. "The people are difficult to govern because of their wisdom."In short, deprive the people of their right to know, deprive them of their right to know, curb their desires, lower their expectations, make them feel that this is the way the world is, dare not do, dare not think, and no longer pursue more freedom.At this point, Laozi parted ways with the people. After thinking about this curve, I remembered many words of Lao Tzu, which can support this curve.For example, in support of the first half of the paragraph: "If you want to take it, you must give it to it", "A sage does not accumulate, he thinks that others have more, and he gives others more"-the more freedom is given to the people, the ruler gets more. more benefits. Conversely, restrict the freedom of the people: "There are many taboos in the world, but the people are poor." Wasn't everything restricted during the People's Commune period?The more restrictions, the poorer the people. "People are hungry because they take too much food and taxes. The people are not governed because they have ideas. They are not governed." , began to resist.And there are many crimes. "When laws and regulations grow, there are many thieves." Later, it was reformed, liberalized and invigorated, "I do nothing and the people transform themselves, and I do nothing but the people become rich."There are many discussions about governance by doing nothing, so I will not give examples. These words of Lao Tzu describe the common interests between the ruler and the people. The people’s freedom increases, the benefits increase, and the ruler’s income also increases, and then reaches the inflection point.I thought of this curve and called it the Laozi curve.But I have a guilty conscience, is this what I mean?Is this what the whole talk is about?So I reread it.Group related words into categories.Classification can have many angles, and the angle I choose is the relationship between the ruler and the common people.Classify from this point of view.My original basic classifications were "consistency between people and officials" and "differences between people and officials".There are 81 chapters in total, three chapters conflict with the common people, and four chapters agree with the common people. Is there only four chapters that are consistent?I have a lot of impressions. There are 25 chapters on the principle of this reverse action.These 25 chapters include 4 chapters that are consistent with the interests of the people.Giving benefits to the people is a kind of reverse action, and the result is: "Being selfless, doing what is selfish" - the more selfless the ruler does, the more beneficial he is to himself.This is the reverse action part. In addition, there is also the "government by doing nothing" part, which can also be considered to be related to the policy of laissez-faire. There are 24 chapters in the part of "government by doing nothing".There are nearly 50 chapters in the two parts, and the proportion is very large.These two parts can also be divided into several units. In my opinion, the whole Tao Te Ching has five parts in the first level classification.There are also secondary and tertiary classifications. A set of chapter catalogs? Check out my categories: 1. What is Tao (15 chapters in total) 1.1 What is Dao and understanding of Dao (Chapter 8) 1.2 Benefits without harm, (Chapter 7,) 2. Keeping the Way (63 chapters in total) 2.1 The importance of Tao (2 chapters) 2.2 Govern by doing nothing (a total of 24 chapters) 2.2.1 Doing nothing (chapter 1) 2.2.2 Governance by doing nothing is the top priority, followed by permutation (chapter 4) 2.2.3 One of the principles of governance by doing nothing: keeping the way (Chapter 2) 2.2.4 Governance through inaction No. 2: Nothingness (Chapter 2) 2.2.5 The third principle of governance by doing nothing: keep quiet (chapter 3) 2.2.6 Governance through inaction No. 4: Anti-use (Chapter 2) 2.2.7 Governance through inaction No. 5: softness overcomes rigidity (chapter 1) 2.2.8 Doing nothing: cautious, step-by-step, easy (2 chapters) 2.2.9 Don’t overdo it, just follow nature (chapter 7) 2.3 Reverse actions (25 chapters in total) 2.3.1 The general principle of anti-use technique, the characteristics of Tao (3 chapters) 2.3.2 Desire to give first, retreat to advance, reverse use of statecraft and its principles (Chapter 12) 2.3.3 It is beneficial to give more to the people than to take less (inclusive interests with the people) (Chapter 4) 2.3.4 Restraining violence, the following is the first (international relations) (chapter 4) 2.3.5 Warfare in the right way, reverse action (2 chapters) 2.4 Cultivation of rulers (relationship with themselves) (12 chapters in total) 2.4.1 Self-cultivation of rulers (11 chapters) 2.4.2 Unruly rulers approach thieves (chapter 1) 3. The conflicting relationship with the people (a total of 3 chapters) (right leaning) 4. Ideal ruler and ideal world (2 chapters in total) (Left-leaning) 5. Knowledge and practice of my way (2 chapters in total) Let me explain a few words. The first part, what is Tao, can be divided into two units: the first unit, what is Tao, understanding and description of Tao, how difficult it is to know, how difficult it is to describe, etc.The second unit, "Dao benefits but not harm", "Going without harm, peace and prosperity". "Tao produces it, virtue accumulates it, and growth nurtures it." In short, "Tao" is constructive.Moreover, "the way of heaven has no relatives, and is always with good people." As long as you do good deeds, the way of heaven will always give good returns. From the results, the way also encourages good people. The second part is keeping the way.The part of keeping the way takes up 63 chapters.This is the main content. The third part, the conflict with the people, has nowhere to be placed in the logic of the above classification, so it is taken as a separate part. In the fourth part, Lao Tzu portrays an image of an ideal ruler and an ideal world.This also cannot be placed in the previous three parts, so it is a single column. Finally, there is the ending, which is like a postscript. Lao Tzu said that his Tao is very easy to know and easy to practice. No one in the world can know or practice it, because people are not modest and so on.This part has two chapters. This is what I do for classification.Because the content of four chapters contains more than two meanings, they need to be classified into different units at the same time, so the total chapters exceed 81 chapters, and there are 85 chapters in total with the classification and repetition of each part. After classification, I found that the so-called Laozi curve, in general, can get ideological support.But then there were some skirmishes.According to Lao Tzu's logic, since the principle of "benefits but not harm" excludes elements of violence or harm to people, then this kind of self-government by doing nothing and growing spontaneously should continue to develop, but Lao Tzu said that ordinary people should not be allowed It is self-contradictory to develop knowledge and desires, and to suppress the masses and keep them ignorant and desireless.This kind of contradictory content, I have to list it separately as the third part. In addition, Lao Tzu also said that the ideal society is "a small country with few people", "chickens and dogs hear each other, and do not communicate with each other when they grow old and die".We know that according to the logic of historical development, it is also the logic of Tao. As long as you rule by doing nothing, let nature take its course, benefit but not harm, then, with the increase in transactions and professionalism, this society will surely prosper. Do things and make the people rich."Another possibility is that as the population increases and resources are strained, if violence cannot be controlled, wars will emerge.If you keep the violence under control, you will prosper to a high degree.Therefore, in any case, the "small country with few people" he imagined will not appear: it is impossible to appear when there is a war, and the big will eat the small, and there will be a big country, and a big country is the product of violent competition.If there were no wars, there would be economic prosperity and social progress. Laozi described the ideal ruler: "A sage has no heart, but the heart of the people." If this is the case, the Laozi curve will come to an end, and there will be no conflict between the ruler and the people.How to ensure that "the sage has no heart, but takes the heart of the people as his heart"?Lao Tzu only gave such a sentence, without giving any specific method.We know that democratically elected presidents can ensure that the rulers generally conform to the will of the people, and democratic supervision can also allow the people to replace unsatisfactory rulers.But Lao Tzu has only one empty talk.Moreover, there are other very solid words that are contrary to this empty words, blocking the people from going down.Therefore, this line to the end, this second half, can only be a dotted line. This unclassifiable depiction of the ideal is separately listed as part four. After classifying, I realized that my thoughts had such a structure, and for the first time I was able to explain clearly what Lao Tzu actually said. What do you think of the second half of Lao Tzu's curve? In this paragraph, he actually only had one sentence.There are three sentences at the position of the apex of the curve or called the inflection point, and there are contradictions with this sentence. Yes, you just made it clear. In the second half, Lao Tzu just raised a question and swayed from side to side.Why?Going up the line to the right will definitely not work, or it will be impossible to reach a "small country with few people" or unlimited prosperity.There is a strong constraint, like you said population growth.It was unimaginable according to the natural conditions or social environment conditions they were in at that time.What will happen if population growth is not controlled?It must be war, so that "people cannibalize". I understand so.We assume that the author, Laozi, is a person, a very complicated person, a person with inner contradictions.If it is not a single person, but several authors together, there will be even more differences and contradictions among them.In short, the author himself has contradictions.But he is very smart and can look at the problem in reverse. In terms of the unity of the people and the ruler, the strategies he proposed are all operable, feasible, and very wise.Like the later intellectuals, when he gave advice to officials, he was very realistic and specific.But it does not mean that this intellectual has no ideals and no conscience, he has.After giving some practical suggestions to the officials, he added that you should overcome your selfishness, be a parent to the people, serve the people wholeheartedly, and so on.Lao Tzu put forward this ideal, but there are no institutional measures, so I can only say that it is a dotted line. His description of the ideal world is also very empty. Just one sentence, without repetition and support, is "a small country with few people." Let's look at Lao Tzu along your curve.According to what you just said, he not only explained the problem clearly, but also had a detailed plan and how to do it.So that the benefits of doing so are also pointed out, but in the 2500 years after Laozi, except for a few historical periods, we can see the upper half of Laozi's curve being presented, the most typical ones are "the rule of Wenjing" and "the rule of Zhenguan". ", that is almost an instant compared to our longer period of unbearable history. In addition, 30 years of reform and opening up will be added.To be honest, I was able to draw this line because I was outlining my impression of reform and opening up.I think I understand Laozi because I understand reality.Laozi also asks you to understand him in this way.In Chapter 14 of the Silk Book, he tells us to "hold on to the way of the present, and use today's principles to control the existence of the present", that is, to use today's principles to grasp today's facts, "to know the beginning of the past" - from this we can know the initial state of the past , "It is called Dao Ji".This is called Dao Ji. What is the truth today?I was reading Tian Jiyun's "The Great Practice of Reform and Opening-up" a while ago. When I was reading it, I found that the reformers grasped a few regular things. Such a large-scale reform and opening up did not really grasp some laws. achievement?So, what laws did the reformers catch?I see two laws for forming consensus in the whole party: the first law and the second law. The First Law: The Law of Wealth Creation.Wealth creation depends on whether the producers are motivated, whether the producers are motivated, and whether they do more to get more, less work to get less, and self-sufficiency.What is a self-inflicted system?The contract system is superficial, while the reform of the property rights system is deep.The property rights system that can most mobilize the enthusiasm for wealth creation is: individuals make independent decisions, benefit themselves when they succeed, and bear the consequences when they fail. This is the standard definition of freedom.The depth and breadth of this freedom is positively correlated with wealth creation.Isn't the stable and lasting positive correlation between two things a law?This is the first law recognized by the reformers: how wealth is created, and the intensity of wealth creation is positively related to the degree of freedom. Furthermore, if the market is brought in, the survival of the fittest, competition, and natural elimination of those who do not do well will be able to stay here, and the efficiency is good. This kind of self-made system must be a very effective way to create wealth on the whole. system.In conclusion, the free market system, the free enterprise system, the self-made system at the individual level and the macro-level as a whole, have a strong positive correlation with the intensity of wealth creation activities.This is the first law. When the first law is respected, the government will win the hearts of the people and be stable. The government's fiscal revenue will also increase and the political power will become more and more stable.This is the second law: the rise and fall of the dominant group depends on your acceptance and compliance with the first law.Of course, the most thorough obedience is democracy, allowing the common people to be their own masters and maintain their own freedom, whoever violates them will be elected, and those who are replaced will protect the freedom of the common people.At present, their understanding of the second law has not been implemented, and they have not been implemented to the end. Just like Lao Tzu, they have expressed some ideals, but only for imaginary ones, and the second half is still a dotted line. Lao Tzu has mentioned these two laws. The so-called "I have nothing to do and the people will get rich", if you don't intervene, the people will become rich. This is the law of wealth creation, or the first law of reform and opening up.How do people get rich?The ruler intervenes less, reduces excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and monopolizes less, so wealth increases.If the government obeys the first law, the government will also become stronger, which is the second law.The first half of the Laozi curve can be broken down into two laws based on the experience of reform and opening up, the degree of freedom, the creation of wealth, and the strength of the regime. There is a positive correlation between the three.The combination of the first half of the Laozi curve depicts this correlation: the more benefits to the people, the higher the ruler's benefits. After understanding these principles of today, and looking back at the principles that Lao Tzu said, I found that what he said is the truth that runs through the past and the present. "Practice the way of the present, use it to control the existence of the present, and know the beginning of the past."If you think about it, there were many similarities between that time and modern times. The well field system was no longer valid, and was replaced by the first tax mu. In our current terms, it is probably equivalent to the disintegration of the people's communes, and the division of land to work alone.The common people were freed, and wealth creation increased.The first taxation of mu was in 594 BC, which is the historical experience that the author of "Lao Tzu" can see.Confucius, who was born in 551 BC, is said to have visited Lao Tzu. How do you use the curve of Lao Tzu to explain such a phenomenon: China's so-called rich, or the feeling that it has become rich, is actually after entering the customs (WTO).Statistics tell us that in 1999 before the entry into the customs, China's foreign exchange reserves were only 144 billion US dollars.After entering the customs for 8 years, it exceeded 2 trillion yuan.This rate of growth has never occurred in known human history. I just disassembled the Laozi curve into two laws. The first law is the law of wealth, "I have nothing to do and the people will get rich." If you give the people freedom, wealth will increase. This can explain the achievements after joining the WTO. How to explain it?First, breaking down trade barriers and joining the world trade system means that our freedom can cross borders, and the flow of various production factors and products can freely cross borders.The whole world is our free space. Second, this freedom must eliminate violence. The so-called "benefit without harm", freedom also has the same characteristics, benefit without harm, that is, do not infringe the rights of others. Within this scope, you are free.Tao and freedom have the same soul, which is to benefit but not harm.Before we joined the WTO, China's domestic system discriminated against private enterprises and set up various barriers, and these barriers were all based on violence, illegal fundraising, imprisonment, and shooting.After joining the WTO, at least part of the barriers have been dismantled, and the constraints on the common people have decreased, that is, the depth of freedom of the common people has increased.No matter in terms of quality or quantity, the freedom of the Chinese people has increased, and the increase in wealth is the natural result of the increase in economic freedom. OK, let's go back to your picture.Is the first half of what human existence itself pursues?Or is it the segment that rulers actually most want to pursue? For the ruler, the optimal degree of freedom reaches this highest point, and if it goes any further, its net income will decline. This is easy to understand.The ruler put aside the line of freedom, not because he had any ideal pursuit of freedom, and increased his legal remuneration along the way, but because he first thought of how to increase the legal remuneration, only to find that there is such a freedom that can be expanded moderately Wire.What we actually see is more likely to grind back and forth in the second half of this line, retracting and releasing, like a spiral movement, in fact neither backwards nor forwards.As a result, this freedom is far removed from the essentially regulated freedom pursued by human beings for generations and constantly emphasized by thinkers. Of course there are differences. But you keep using the word freedom.In my opinion, this is almost a materialistic freedom.The ruler increases the speed of your desire, which will lead to an increase in his wealth or power.The freedom of material desires is the freedom to have enough food. We add a word here: "degree." The theoretical full score of "degree of freedom" is 100 points.But the best time for the ruler is half, 50 points.People want 100 points, rulers want 50 points, 50 points belong to common interests, and 50 points belong to differences. Yes, use "degrees of freedom".How do you see this second half if you see the whole line as degrees of freedom?In the second half, you use dotted lines to express. If the dotted lines are solid, is it true freedom? right. In the second half of the period, the rulers refused to sit on the ground and tried their best to limit the rights and choices of the people. When people satisfy the low-level needs, they turn to the high-level needs. When the high-level needs are developed, they must strive for honor, self-esteem, social status, and self-realization. Finally, they play chess all day long, like gods, quit work, and pursue leisure.For the ruler, if you just sit idle, don't give birth to me, don't give me war, this kind of person is useless.According to Li Ling, after deducting those high-level desires, people are satisfied with food and clothing, which are cattle and horses.The best people in the ruler's mind are cattle and horses.There is no higher desire.This measure is best for the ruler.So the best degree of freedom is at the position of the apex or inflection point, which gives you 50 square meters of free space.Add another 10 square meters, and you will have certain political rights, demanding the right to supervise, the right to know, to master more knowledge, and to control your own destiny.The increase in these requirements and desires is the increase in the freedom of the common people.But the legal remuneration of the ruler will fall.If the common people are really able to elect public servants, the legal remuneration of the ruler will become zero.They are really public servants.This is the possible degree of freedom in a democratic society, 100 points, 100 square meters.Not so ideal, there are 80 points. If we say that the reform and opening up has been following the first half of the Laozi curve for 30 years, it is impossible to open the second half-turning this dotted line into a solid line.Is there anyone else in the classical wisdom who can guide us from the dotted line to the solid line? I have no idea.The first half of the curve, we can call it economic liberalism, fully expands freedom in the economic field.It can make the economy develop, and these can indeed bring us the "Government of Wen and Jing", and can bring us the great achievements of reform and opening up.However, if we go further and expand the degree of freedom, we have no such experience in history, let alone no such experience, and I have not imagined it in terms of imagination. This is called animal freedom. Animal freedom is a bit ruthless, let's talk about economic freedom.The economy is generally designed to satisfy the material desires of ordinary people.D.But going forward, it involves human dignity, political rights, and people can stop working... This is the time of human freedom. Mainly in the political field, because once people can decide their own destiny, what he likes to do is his own business. It is not only in the political field, but also in belief and artistic creation. Our line is talking about the relationship between legal rewards and degrees of freedom.The first half focuses on the economic field, economic reform and opening up, and economic freedom can be done.Moving forward is political freedom.This half of the paragraph involves the restriction and supervision of the rulers. If the people increase a little, the rulers will decrease a little. If the people increase to 100, the surplus of the rulers will become zero. This is intolerable.I think that when our reform has come to this point, we have reached the highest point where the interests of the two sides are consistent, and it is also the best point of freedom from the perspective of the ruling group, reaching 50 points.Going forward to 51 square meters, private freedom increases by 1 square meter, and official income decreases by 1 inch. At this time, differences begin.This is why our reforms have been difficult to advance. Sometimes the obstacle is an interest group, whose best interests are different from those of the overall ruling group. He will not delegate power and give up benefits at 45 or 47, and will not move forward, although there are still some interests, such as open Telecommunications, open finance.Although the entire country's economy was damaged, he also bit his teeth and stopped moving forward.Therefore, such a game may occur. Under the obstruction of the interests of various groups, even 50 square meters of free space cannot be achieved, so there is a see-saw between 45 and 47. Now it is generally between 40 and 50 in the game.What if you get to 50? There is no qualitative change.Walking to 50 square meters is the ideal state of Laozi's policy.Of course, it is not a small country with few people, but the prosperity of both the government and the people.But this prosperity is not guaranteed. No one is guaranteed, including the ruler himself.Stop today.Achieve a lot.Thank you Si Wu!