(King of the Hill circa 200BC, Han dynasty)
Image Credit: https://www.otakujournalist.com/why-king-of-the-hill-anime-mashups-are-popular/
Han, Reign of Gaozu year 1, Luoyang, Imperial Palace
“And how do we utilize these broken men?”
“Prolonged stability in a society has the inevitable tendency to create rigidity of thought and inflexible political system. Stability and order blooms under the harsh sun of conformity, and much of our ambition centers on instituting this immovable fixture. Yet, pragmatic policies cannot be imagined within an intellectual bureaucracy drunk on the conviction of its own infallibility and beholden to its own tautology. Political aptitude must be cultivated in those whom indoctrination of self-evident truths and conformist ignorance have not taken root. The Taoist training with its emphasis on perceiving the world in oneness allows for certain flexibility of the mind without devolving into overt casuistry.”
“Did not Confucius dismiss Laozi as a mere sophist?”
“Laozi dared not concede to the truth of Confucian perspective. Laozi was the only man who was unfazed by Confucius’ antics. Clearly, Laozi was more than a sophist.”
“Why the need to break the psyche of Taoist acolytes? Could they not assist us in formulating practical policy without being subject to your . . . methods?”
“Though Taoists possess the necessary qualifications for political aptitude, their entrenched theism induces them to eschew worldly ambitions. Our methods provoke psychic stress in order that they turn their lofty eyes from the bliss of Heaven to the harsh reality of Earth. Furthermore, the converts will properly perceive life as being more than mere ideology or theology; though exalted aspirations of cult doctrines melt away under psychic stress, ignoble reality of life persists regardless. These men will continue to retain their aptitude for mental flexibility, having trained all their lives in becoming proficient, with expanded horizon and perspective. Our intention is not to torture men, your Majesty, but to enlighten and to expand their minds.”
“Then to which bureaucratic offices will these enlightened men be posted?”
“The most promising converts will be ideal as the trainers of the new Taoist recruits. They will need to be educated in the methods of inflicting psychic stress, informed in selecting sublime environments amenable to indoctrination, and drilled in recognizing the critical psychic moment in their subjects.”
“It is to be somewhat of a self-perpetuating mechanism. Then it would be in the interest of the state to also encourage propagation of Taoism.”
“Indeed, your Majesty. We would not wish to exhaust the recruitment pool for such critical posts within your empire. Sinecure appointments of mediocre Taoists as spiritual advisors, or some such non-government function, would be enough to generate interest in Taoism within your empire to replenish our resources. The important aspect regarding the Taoists will be in limiting our annual recruitment for conversion, lest your subjects and the Taoist sect discover our true aims. Any philosophical or religious sects will have an expected depletion rate amongst its acolytes.”
“The less promising converts, in what positions of government will they be posted?”
“The Imperial Couriers and the Imperial Archives.”
“Such menial posts?! Why trouble ourselves to convert men for such inconsequential appointments?”
“Imperial Couriers are your Majesty’s eyes and ears that reach from Liangzhou to Liadong. Only those who can view your Majesty’s society from the outside the cultural conformity would be able to detect potential points of intercession in sociopolitical discontent.”
“Why do you claim that only outsiders can discover these crucial sociopolitical intersections?”
“Those who have been conditioned to value conformity, tradition, or doctrine perceive their environment through a warped matrix that merely reinforces their indoctrination. For them, the self-reinforcing narratives of their social dogma supersedes any and all objective data, countervailing information, or fundamental reality. If your Majesty’s Confucian bureaucracy and intelligentsia have performed their duties to specification, much of your subjects will be programmed to adhere to the Confucian dogma, rituals, and traditions, even against their own self-interest, and even unto their deaths. Such men are inept in regard to critical examination of their belief system; they either will never acknowledge flaws with their perfect society, or attempt to alleviate sociopolitical problems with increasing rigidity of thought.”
“Your philosophy will turn my subjects into babbling fools! I will rule an empire of imbeciles!”
“Your subjects are simpletons, even without our philosophy, your Majesty. How many of your subjects hold ludicrous regional superstitions that have basis neither on facts nor reason? How many of your subjects currently define their identity in terms of the geography of their birth, as if they sprang forth from the very Earth itself? How many of your subject continue to adhere to social norms arbitrarily set by regnal decrees of forgotten eras and kingdoms? Our methods offer your Majesty tools to channel the inherent stupidity of your subjects into a unified social philosophy, and ultimately into a unified political empire that will last for ten-thousand years. Does your Majesty desire to rule his empire under the stability of conformity or under the chaos of myopic self-interest?”
“. . . how will the bureaucracy function with idiots in office?”
“Ha ha! Your Majesty thinks too highly of bureaucrats. The nature of specialized divisions within your bureaucracy promotes appointing those of localized vision, impaired imagination, and inflexible intellect. Idiots would be ideal candidates to occupy the offices of your bureaucracy. Your Majesty’s bureaucracy is a tool, and for such tool to be effective, men suited in operation of such tool need to be trained and assigned. Men of superior imagination, broad perceptions, and flexible intellect will not only chafe under uncompromising bureaucratic procedures, but impede its proper function, due to their compulsion towards implementing innovation and reform.”
“Would we not desire innovation and efficiency in governance?”
“The primary purpose of bureaucracy is providing stability and consistency in its interaction with your subjects. It matters not to your subjects whether your bureaucratic department operates at efficiency, as long as your bureaucracy operates in consistent, expected patterns. Your subjects will readily adjust their behavior to the demands of your bureaucracy, provided that their interactions remain consistent. Besides, would your Majesty desire to rule his empire mired in endless review of proposals for bureaucratic reform and requests for implementation of countless novelties?”
“Of course not!”
“Then idiots will suffice for your bureaucracies.”
“What of the archives? Why do we need your special agents to merely catalogue scrolls and codex?”
“With Confucian academics controlling the intellectual institutions, certain information necessary for effective sociopolitical policy formulation may become neglected or disregarded. All scholars have constricted vision regarding their perception of the environment, including the Confucians. It would be wise to have alternate perspectives regarding relevance of information concerning history, aside from the Confucian perspective, particularly from a non-ideological viewpoint. Furthermore, the archive’s primary function is to retrieve pertinent information necessary for formulating political decisions. Certain information may be too sensitive for the eyes of an average Confucian indoctrinated in the prevailing cultural narrative, but not for your Majesty’s enlightened agents.”
“They would be keepers of secrets.”
“Precisely, your Majesty. Idealists tend to be unsuited for operations requiring subtlety and discretion.”
“Understood. Will these agents and social manipulation be enough to maintain stability of the Han?”
“There is the matter of the Xiongnu.”
“Yes. How can this threat be managed?”
—to be continued—
"The nature of specialized divisions within your bureaucracy promotes appointing those of localized vision, impaired imagination, and inflexible intellect. Idiots would be ideal candidates to occupy the offices of your bureaucracy."
Truer words have never been spoken.
Found myself laughing with pleasure at the clear rationale for staffing government with fools. I would like to print a copy of this and put it - along with a hand mirror - in every bureaucrat's mail box. Undoubtedly however, a majority would interpret the text as a government letter documenting their diligent efforts and the mirror as their reward. How efficient they are! Then, with a firm and practiced hand, they would take the rubber stamp that reads 'Approved' and stamp themselves on the forehead as a form of onanistic self-congratulation.
The Sith series is really great so far and just keeps getting better!
I am glad you like it! One criticism of bureaucracy was that the political system was designed to mimic industrial mechanical systems being adopted at the time. In essence, the checks and balances and delegated authority of various bureaucratic departments was a massive mechanical computer to govern an unwieldy political amalgamation. Chinese industrialized their smelting and fabric production using manpower; the Chinese used human muscle to power all facets of the state apparatus from trebuchets to silk fabric manufacturing. In the West, even prior to the Black Plague wiping out 33% of the population, the heavy, mechanical work was performed via less manpower intense methods of counterweights and pulley systems. Maybe in the future, the political systems can become more efficient via use of the new technical innovations like @valued-customer constantly preaches. The problem, of course, is determining who ought to hold the levers of that technical monstrosity.
Well, we should, of course =)
Your post speaks to the necessity of dis-uniformity. For example, take Plato's belief that children should be raised by the state. Given how many kids' minds get messed up by their parents, cognitively and emotionally, Plato's might seem like a good and humanitarian ideal.
But I worry that in his ideal state all children would get to grow more or less the same, and that would limit those accidents of life and parentage that might produce greatness.
Ever since I watched the movie Ikiru, any talk about bureaucracy always reminds me of it. It's the best meditation on bureaucracy I ever watched, and one of the best movies I ever watched.
Is that Son Goku in the img?! Or some King of the Hill character dressed like him on Halloween? (I never watched King of the Hill.)
I think there are inherent limitation and vulnerability within a uniform society. Although monocultural norm is a necessity to maintain a viable polity, mechanisms for self-criticism and self-reflection of the said monoculture seem important for said polity to remain vibrant and relevant. At times, contact with an external force can shock a society into reform and change, such as Roman contact with Carthage, Persia, and Germanic incursions, but in many circumstances, such contact can overwhelm the social sensibility and political capacity of a brittle polity, such as the Western Roman collapse at contact with the Goths, the shattering of already brittle Seljuk dominions when the Franj arrived in the Holy Land, the destruction of natives in the New World with the arrival of Europe, and Qing dissolution when 20th century knocked on the gilded doors of the Forbidden Palace. When a sociopolitical responses can be reduced to set political patterns, then that polity will be at the mercy of those who can manipulate those reactionary patterns; much like how man has tamed the creatures of the wild by exploiting behavioral patterns of the beasts.
It is Hank Hill, the titular character of King of the Hill, dressed as Son Goku. I think it is a fan drawing, as I don't recall an episode with him dressing as such, and it would be completely out of character for Hank Hill to be dressed as such. If you can, you should watch an episode or two of King of the Hill. It is a great examination of non-coastal US sociocultural milieu.
This is a hoot! And so true. They are just parts of a machine, cogs. Nothing more. These leaders are really quite clever.
Great job @soo.chong163
cheers
Anj :D
Congratulation
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