DEMOCRACY AND THE WAR (original) (raw)

Mencius said, "During the Spring and Autumn period, there were no righteous wars'' (Mengzi 7B2). The Spring and Autumn period in Chinese History (772-480 B. C.) was an age of great anarchy and frequent wars in China, as it is now in Europe. The feudal order of society in China then had broken down and a new social order with new ideas-a democratic order of society just as we have in China today, was being formed. But unfortunately at that time, the idea of a true foundation for such a new society was not understood. With the loss of the strong feudal habits of subordination and deference, the idea of kingship,-the principle of respect for authority as the imperative and fundamental basis of a State was lost. Confucius, who lived at the time, said, "Among the barbarous tribes of the North and the East even, the people still have kingship and respect for authority; whereas in the civilized realms of China today, kingship and respect for authority do not exist anywhere" (Analects 3.5). Indeed, Confucius in the last days of his life wrote a book called the Spring and Autumn Annals (which may be compared with Carlyle's Latter-Day Pamphlets) to show that the cause of all the anarchy and endless wars of the time was the loss of the idea of kingship and respect for authority in the Chinese nation during that period of Spring and Autumn to which Mencius referred. We now see the same state of things in Europe today as it was in China 2500 years ago. The feudal order of society in Europe has now been broken up and a new social order with new ideas,-a new democratic order of society is being formed. But now what does Democracy mean? To many people in Europe and America today-and we are sorry to say, since the coming of the New Learning into this country, also in China now,-Democracy means Kinglessness. The American says, "Government of the people, for the people and by the people." Sir Edward Grey said the other day in connection with the present war, the British Government would be guided entirely by public opinion. Now according to the principle above laid down, while on the one hand the Emperor, King, Chief Magistrate, or Prime Minister at the head of a nation, who is responsible for the good government and the welfare of the nation, is to take no responsibility whatever for guiding and leading the nation the way it, should go, but has merely to follow blindly the will of the people called public opinion,-the people themselves on the other hand are to decide not only how they are to be governed, but, when necessary, also what is a righteous war and what is not a righteous war and when and against whom the nation is to make war. Now leaving out the question of good government, one may ask here: Can the people, the mass of the people in a nation judge rightly what is a righteous and what is not a righteous war? A righteous war is a war for right, for righteousness or, as everybody now says, for civilization. Therefore in order to know whether a war is righteous, or unrighteous, it is necessary to know what civilization is-what is true and what is false civilization. Now, how much do or can the people, the mass of the people in a This is a tentative new edition of Ku Hungming's article in Vox Clamantis 1917. I will appreciate editorial corrections and suggestions (