The economics of peace and war in the Chinese military classics

Authors

  • Matthew McCaffrey University of Manchester

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.10.1.23

Keywords:

Chinese history, military strategy, war finance, political economy of war, Art of War

Abstract

While some classics of Chinese military and strategic thought, like Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, are well-studied by researchers and business professionals, lesser-known works in China’s military canon have been neglected. This article surveys seven major ancient Chinese texts and discusses the contribution of each to the political economy of peace and war. As a rule, the writings stress the importance of nonviolent conflict resolution and advocate the avoidance of war whenever possible. In addition, they also consider the role of the state in war-making, especially its methods of war finance and attempts to encourage or discourage economic activity. They generally warn the state to limit its expenditure and impositions on the population so as to encourage the production of resources for use in military campaigns, should they become necessary. [JEL codes: B11, H2, H56]

Author Biography

Matthew McCaffrey, University of Manchester

Lecturer in Enterprise, Manchester Enterprise Centre, University of Manchester

References

Baloglou, C.P. 2012. “The Tradition of Economic Thought in the Mediterranean World from the Ancient Classical Times Through the Hellenistic Times Until the Byzantine Times and Arab-Islamic World,” pp. 7-91 in J. Backhaus, ed. Handbook of the History of Economic Thought. New York: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8336-7_2

Baumol, W.J. 1990. “Entrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive, and Destructive.” Journal of Political Economy. Vol. 98, No. 5, pp. 893-919. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/261712

Boorman, S.A. and H.L. Boorman. 1964. “Mao Tse-tung and the Art of War.” Journal of Asian Studies. Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 129-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2050423

Carreiro, D.R. 2013. “The Tao Against the Tyrant: The Limitation of Power in the Political Thought of Ancient China.” Libertarian Papers. Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 111-152.

Fu, Z. 1993. Autocratic Tradition and Chinese Politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Goodrich, C.S. 1981-1983. “Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Biography of Wu Ch’i.” Monumenta Serica. Vol. 35, pp. 197-233.

Long, R. 2003. “Austro-Libertarian Themes in Early Confucianism.” Journal of Libertarian Studies. Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 35-62.

McCaffrey, M. 2014. “The Political Economy of the Art of War.” Comparative Strategy. Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 354-371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01495933.2014.941725

McCaffrey, M. 2015. “The Economics of Sun Pin’s Military Strategy.” http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2539656 [accessed 18 December 2014].

McCaffrey, M. and J.T. Salerno. 2011. “A Theory of Political Entrepreneurship.” Modern Economy. Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 552-560. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/me.2011.24061

North, D.C. 1981. Structure and Change in Economic History. New York: Norton.

Rothbard, M.N. 2006. Economic Thought Before Adam Smith. Auburn, AL: The Ludwig von Mises Institute.

Salerno, J.T. 2008. “Imperialism and the Logic of War Making.” Independent Review. Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 447-457.

Sawyer, R.D. 2007. The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China. Translation and commentary by R.D. Sawyer, with Mei-Chün Sawyer. New York: Basic Books. [“T’ai Kung’s Six Secret Teachings,” pp. 40-105; “The Methods of the Ssu-ma,” pp. 126-143; “Sun Tzu’s Art of War,” pp. 157-186; “Wu Tzu,” pp. 206-224; “Wei Liao-tzu,” pp. 242-276; “Three Strategies of Huang Shih-kung,” pp. 292-306.]

Sawyer, R.D. 1995. Sun Pin: Military Methods. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. [“Military Methods,” pp. 79-244.]

Tilly, C. 1990. Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1990. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.

Downloads

Published

2015-04-01

How to Cite

McCaffrey, M. (2015). The economics of peace and war in the Chinese military classics. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.10.1.23

Issue

Section

Articles

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.