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Abhinav Pandey

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Han Feizi

A figure from the books

#HanFeizi

Han Feizi · c. 280–233 BCE

In the books · 1 chapter

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Who this is

“He designed the coldest, most brilliant operating system for state power the ancient world ever produced — it conquered all of China, killed its own author first, and then destroyed the dynasty that ran it.”
— The Great Philosophers, Ch. 33

The big idea, in the book's words:

“People act on self-interest, not goodness — so a state should stop hoping for virtue and instead build a machine of clear laws, rewards, and punishments that works even when everyone in it is selfish.”
— The Great Philosophers, Ch. 33

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