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    Carmelics

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that The Legalist observation of concealment and power accumulation describes pathological instances, not the logical structure of the ruler-minister relation.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Legalist principles describe incentive structures that arise naturally from hierarchy itself, not exceptional failures of governance.
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    • 2.If ministers have no power to conceal and accumulate, the institutional design must restrict their autonomy—contradicting meritocratic ideals.
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    • 3.The ruler's suspicion described by Legalists emerges rationally from information asymmetry inherent to delegation, not pathology.
      ?

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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Healthy ruler-minister relations in Confucian theory assume mutual trust and shared ethical commitment, making concealment unnecessary.
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    • 2.Legalist texts focus on worst-case scenarios to design institutions; this doesn't prove pathology is the normal operational mode.
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    • 3.Many historical dynasties functioned effectively without constant power games, suggesting concealment is contingent, not structural.
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