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>that one Dictator in a million Also called an enlightened despot; In the Eastern -Chinese Legalism tradition- a 明君 "míngjūn". There have been instances of the
by anvandare 8y ago
>that one Dictator in a million
Also called an enlightened despot; In the Eastern -Chinese Legalism tradition- a 明君 "míngjūn". There have been instances of them throughout history. But like you said, the problem is usually what happens once the ruler is gone. It's never a (long-term) good idea to have the success of a group dependant on a single person. A political system that produces mediocre-but-stable success (over several generations) seems preferable to one that produces a superior-but-brief success.
- baybal2 8y ago>In the Eastern -Chinese Legalism tradition- Oh my, can I ask you where did you pick that up? It feels to me that an average Western person nowadays has been taught more of that stuff than a well studied Chinese.
- threatofrain 8y agoYou’re assuming this person isn’t Chinese?
- baybal2 8y agoI do. I can not imagine an educated Chinese person these days going at that, moreover somebody from mainland China who is not a party member.
- ABCLAW 8y agoNot the poster you're replying to, but an examination of Legalism was presented in both law schools I attended. Additionally, I know it is also addressed in East Asian studies faculties (with additional historical context above the legal philosophy aspect of it, albeit with less emphasis on the functional qualities).
- anvandare 8y agoPicked it up long ago in a class on Eastern Philosophy. Given the vastness, variety, and history of Asia it barely covered 1% of it all, of course, so I only have a rough overview of the main traditions.
- virtualwhys 8y ago> what happens once the ruler is gone Well, in the case of Singapore, his son takes over [1]. Interestingly (for the HN crowd) he knows C++ and iirc from an old thread about the current PM, Haskell. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Hsien_Loong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Hsien_Loong
- toyg 8y agoFrom the linked sources: "One of [my children] browsed a book and said, 'Here, read this.'" It was a textbook on the Haskell programming language, Lee recounted. "One day that will be my retirement reading." He did get a CS master at Cambridge (UK) though, so the C++ bit is likely true.
- teyc 8y agoYou might like this - https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/05/prime-minister-of-singapore-shares-his-c-code-for-sudoku-solver/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/05/prime...
- rsynnott 8y ago> But like you said, the problem is usually what happens once the ruler is gone. Or, even worse, when they get old and start losing their faculties.
- xster 8y agoWhy is it a legalist tradition? Isn't the (competing) confucian tradition all about the 2 ways social contract binding and the virtuous ruler?