Chapter 9 Ancient Chinese version of "Cairns"

The prime minister-level bureaucrats of the past dynasties in China, businessmen are very rare, only Guan Zhong in the pre-Qin Dynasty, Ahema, Zhenhai and Sangge in the Yuan Dynasty, Song Ziwen and Kong Xiangxi in the Republic of China. Guan Zhong lived a long life and lived to be over 80 years old. He was poor in his early years, governed in his prime, and became a hegemon in forty years.In the 7th century BC, most areas on the earth were still in the barbaric era, but it is really a miracle that China can produce such an economic master.He attaches great importance to system construction, is pragmatic in thinking, and takes economic development as the main axis of governance. Many economic propositions involved, such as industrial policy, finance, taxation, price, consumption, international trade, etc., cover almost all areas of governance. A businessman who has taken one economics course and repeatedly failed to start a business is undoubtedly a self-taught economic genius.A close look at his economic policies reveals that he is actually a state interventionist who respects the laws of the market. In this regard, we might as well regard him as the ancient Chinese version of "Keynes".

Guan Zhongzhi has three important historical experiences: First, a systematic national economic governance system has been formed for the first time through the overall supporting reform of prices, finance, and taxation; Second, the monopoly policy of salt and iron proposed by him is a classic model of state intervention in the economy, and its influence continues to this day; Third, the economic system of Qi State formed under Guan Zhong's governance is the embryonic form of China's classical market economic system. However, Guan Zhong's thoughts were deliberately submerged in later generations because of two major reasons.

First, the state of Qi declined for a lifetime, and the idea of ​​governing the country by business was completely bankrupt. Qi State has the strongest national power, but has adopted a "peaceful hegemony" strategy of not expanding its military and not annexing. Guan Zhong's actions to maintain international order did not play much role.In the late period of Duke Huan of Qi, the state of Jin in the central plains and the state of Chu in the south annexed small states one after another, and their territories continued to expand. Their military adventures undoubtedly gained greater benefits.In 645 BC, Guan Zhong died, and two years later, Duke Huan of Qi died in a palace coup, and Qi quickly gave up his hegemony.Since then, the princes who have successively sought hegemony have frightened the world by opening up territories.

Second, Guan Zhong's thought is incompatible with Confucianism. Confucianism is known as a "cheap businessman". In their view, Guan Zhong has a lot of problems from his background to his behavior and policy outline.In "The Analects of Confucius Xianwen", Zi Gong determined that "Guan Zhong is not a benevolent man".Many of his economic policies, whether stimulating commerce, encouraging consumption, or "stopping war with commerce", are all heresies in the view of Confucianism, and the monopoly policy of salt and iron has also been resisted by Confucianism. In the following chapters, we will It can be seen that in the reform of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty and the reform of Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty, the great scholars Dong Zhongshu and Sima Guang were the biggest opponents of the monopoly policy.Confucianism has only "three axes" in economic governance: the first is "agriculture-oriented", the second is "less corvee and less tax", and the third is "self-denial, benevolence and righteousness".Unfortunately, none of these three items can be found in Guan Zhong.

In this sense, Guan Zhong is a reformer who was "murdered" by ideology.