An Attempt at Fumbling around in Law
Author: Hsiung Bing-yuan Posted on Mar 10, 2010, Apple Daily
Translator: Welson Xiong (Mar 15, 2010)
Translator: Welson Xiong (Mar 15, 2010)
Having been puttering around in economics for nearly 30 years, I do have some knowledge obtained from the purported "Queen of the social sciences." A few years ago, I wrote an essay titled as "Economics 012" aiming to capture the core ideas of economics, which I have recognized can use only three numbers - 0, 1 and 2 to express four main theorems.
Theorem I: ○>0. The big zero is larger than the small one, which means that much/many is better than little/few, and that sweet is better than sour. I wish the salary cannot be too much. I prefer to live in a luxurious spacious house instead of living in a small apartment, and whenever my going out or coming back, I would like to have my own sedan car and chauffeur, rather than to ride the shabby bike and put up with the traffic smoke nuisance. Put Theorem I into words: Man is rational and capable of thinking. Man is self-interested as well, wishing to pursue his own well-being. Theorem II: 1+1＜2. 「Being」 may not be necessarily reasonable, but there is certainly a reason for its existence. The outcome of a falling drop onto another does not get two drops. The same is also true of social phenomena. It seems that those things which got someone's goat, in fact, had their own antecedents. If they all had been able to be solved by reason, we wouldn’t have needed to harbor an emotional grievance against each other.
Theorem III: 1+1＞2. A good value emerges conditionally. We all wish a peaceful, progressive community, a happy, harmonious family, and a vitality and a prosperity for our health and career. However, there is no free lunch. As you sow, so shall you reap. Wishing to enjoy juicy fruits, one must check first if the conditions are ample for them to grow. Theorem IV: 0~0. Things would lose their meaning if they were not balanced by other things. Without leaves as the foil, there shows no salient features of the flower. If there were not a bad sort, one would not be able to appreciate the value of a good sort. All things, no matter good or bad, right or wrong, are relative one another. Therefore, it is worth one’s while mulling over in an inertial frame of reference.
I believe that to a considerable extent, these four theorems capture the essence of economics. Moreover, in theory or in practice, there is still a lot of scope for their further elaboration. Apart from self-righteous pleasure, the brainchild of mine also makes it much easier to dialogue with both other disciplines and the general public.
Generic Economic Concepts
One day about two or three years ago, it suddenly struck me that "If Economics can be condensed into the core ideas, can I follow suit for the noble, age-old, traditional Law? Moreover, if a blessing is upon me, I may also use some simple symbols to bring out the crucial points of Law."
Unfortunately, my intermittent thinking on that wish has made little progress. On the one hand my knowledge of law is limited; on the other, significant differences exist in interdisciplinary nature. My refinement work seems having sparkles while the process, but its structure is actually more like fragments, far from a sound construction. However, no matter what the ultimate result of my endeavor is, I think some of the found concepts are indeed stepping stones to master the core of law, especially from an economic point of view!
Firstly, the concept of "Repeated Games": A man’s life shall go through a number of seasons, so especially do a state or a society. Therefore, the design and plan for rules and regulations (The legal and judicial systems are among the links) must focus on the future. To punish the fault seems to deal with the past but, in fact, is for the sake of the future. If a society (person) survived only one day, then there wouldn’t need a variety of norms and prisons. Another proper expression to describe the concept is that the sun will still rise tomorrow.
Secondly, the concept of "Tools": While the evolutionary process of survival of the fittest in natural selection, man develops a wide variety of tools, hoping to fend for himself, pursue good fortune and avoid disaster. Therefore, all kinds of things such as axe, wheel, gunpowder, car, table, chair, etc. are tools; various rules and regulations are nothing but tools. Since the law is set in this manner, a man’s thought, from the abstract point of view, makes no exception. Now that all inventions are regarded as tools, it is worthwhile to choose a better one, whereas the concept of cost-effectiveness can be applied in time to help making a decision. To put it simply, the pursuit of fairness and justice can not make light of the price it may cost!
Abstractly speaking, not only is the attempt to find out whatever the core ideas of economics, law or any other subjects itself interesting, but it is mentally challenging. The approach to grope about in the dark could have often been sui generis and gained one’s own point of view. It is just like the similar activities of thousands of years ago as Chinese philosopher Tsang said about Confucius - "The way of our Master is 'doing one’s utmost and putting oneself in the other’s place,' nothing more."
The author is now Professor in the Institute & Department of Economics, National Taiwan University, and Consultant of Lukang town, Changhua County.
