The Art of War~In Modern Day Politics and Governance by the endisnighe

I have been working on a book or thesis for about 3 months now, in between posting here and working on several projects in regards to this falls upcoming elections.

This is a teaser. I have come to the point in my writing that I am going through the book editing and clarifying my points. I have yet to write the conclusion. I am hoping some ideas can be provided by my friends here on the conclusion.

So without further ado, the teaser~

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The Art of War in Modern Day Politics and Governance

I have always felt that Sun Tzu was centuries ahead of his time. He speculated and wrote about warfare, but to this day and age, people study his teachings in all aspects of everyday life. From the societal to the business, his teachings span the parameters of modern day.

I am going to try and put together a step by step layout how the governments of the world try and use Sun Tzu’s teachings to implement their agenda. I am going to use his layout as the blueprint and correlate my observations to his parameters. I hope this will inspire you to acknowledge and to encompass the aspects which governments in general, use these things to implement an agenda, that is not at all what you perceive to be as benevolent.

First off, we will begin with the 1910 translation into English that has been the hallmark for the evaluation of the Art of War. I will be using the Lionel Giles Translation. This can be found at-Art of War by Sun Tzu


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I. LAYING PLANS

1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

Of course the Art of War is important to the government; it is and always will be the method of the state to control the populace and other nations in its endeavors. If complete and absolute control cannot be maintained in the eyes of the state, there is chaos. Governments and states believe that to not control every aspect of day to day lives of both their citizens and other countries; chaos could unfold. Of course this is a narcissistic belief, one that thinks that to not control ones environment breeds chaos, in and of itself is a psychological disorder.


2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

When Sun Tzu wrote his Art of War, chaos was the rule of the day. Factions in China stripped the region in never ending wars amongst many different Feudal Empires. One must look at the evolution of man in the context of the time.

3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

Here is where he began to consummate his doctrine of obtaining control. Remember this very word. Control, it is an axiom that is inferred in every aspect of governance now. Nothing can be allowed to break this covenant. CONTROL.

4. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and Discipline.

Here is where Sun Tzu begins to layout his Control parameters. They are very relevant and cognizant of every aspect of these parameters. One must imagine what the times must have been to him. Chaos had to be controlled at that time. I find no fault in his endeavors. He was right in assuming that Order was better than Chaos. Remember this, Sun Tzu felt that Control was better than the all encompassing Chaos at his time.
(At this time, I will be making assumptions and observations that I will be stating as fact. I in no way do I know what was going on in the head of Sun Tzu. I am making jumps in logic, to assume what his intentions were. I will also be making jumps in logic and reasoning when applying his principles to today. These are my observations and interpretations; they in no way mean that they are true or absolute. As I have said, these are my postulations.)

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Well, I have used the first section of the translation as the first section of my book. This is the first 4 subcomponents of the first section. I did not want to post too much, I wanted to build a little anticipation. Also, I did not want to let out too much out of the bag. I have an idea for a follow up book on this already. I keep coming up with ideas on it and that is why this one has taken so long. The second book will be named, The Art of War Your Defense against the Government, maybe. I am still working on the name for that one. Anyway, I hope you like the idea and the book when I am done.

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And since I still have room on the thread, a couple of songs.



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edit to fix bbcode



[edit on 4/30/2010 by endisnighe]