Chapter 20: Moderation in Expenditure – Part I
When a sage governs a state, the wealth and population of that state can be doubled; if he governs the entire world on a larger scale, the wealth and population of the world can also be doubled. This doubling is not achieved by seizing land from the outside, but by utilizing the state’s existing resources and eliminating useless expenditures, which is sufficient to achieve this doubling. When sage kings govern, in issuing decrees, undertaking projects, employing the people, and using wealth, there is nothing they do without adding practical utility. Therefore, wealth is not squandered, the people’s physical strength is not exhausted, and the benefits generated are abundant.
Why are clothes and fur garments made? To ward off the cold in winter and the heat in summer. The principle of making clothes is: whatever adds warmth in winter and coolness in summer should be retained; whatever does not add to these utilities should be discarded. Why are houses built? To ward off the cold wind in winter and the heat and rain in summer. Whatever adds structural reinforcement against thieves and robbers should be retained; whatever does not should be discarded. Why are armor, shields, and the five weapons made? To defend against invaders, rebels, and thieves. In the presence of such threats, those with armor and weapons will win, while those without will not. Therefore, sages create armor and weapons. Whatever makes these weapons lighter, sharper, sturdier, and harder to break adds utility and should be retained; whatever does not should be discarded. Why are boats and carriages made? So that carriages can traverse land and boats can navigate rivers and valleys, thereby facilitating the exchange of goods across the four quarters. The principle of making boats and carriages is: whatever adds lightness and convenience should be retained; whatever does not should be discarded. In making all these things, nothing is done without adding practical utility. Therefore, wealth is not squandered, the people’s strength is not exhausted, and the benefits generated are abundant. If the nobles’ obsession with hoarding pearls, jade, birds, beasts, dogs, and horses were eliminated, and the wealth redirected to increase the production of clothing, housing, armor, weapons, boats, and carriages, would it be difficult to double the nation’s wealth? It would not be difficult at all.
What, then, is the hardest thing to double? Only human population is difficult to double; yet, even population can be doubled. In ancient times, sage kings enacted laws stating: “Men at the age of twenty must not remain unmarried; women at the age of fifteen must not remain unmarried.” This was the law of the sage kings. After the sage kings passed away, the people delayed marriage. Those who wished to marry early might wait until twenty, while those who wished to marry late might wait until forty. Averaging the early and the late, marriage was delayed by ten years compared to the sage kings’ law. If a child is born every three years, those who marry early can have two or three more children during this ten-year period. Does this not not only encourage early marriage but also potentially double the population? Is it not so?
Today, those who govern the world have many ways of reducing the population. They exhaust the people with labor and burden them with heavy taxes. When the people’s wealth is insufficient, countless numbers die of cold and starvation. Furthermore, when nobles raise armies to attack neighboring states, campaigns last a whole year at the slowest and several months at the fastest, keeping men and women apart for long periods. This is another way of reducing the population. Added to this are those who die from diseases caused by unstable living conditions and irregular meals, as well as those who perish in invasions, rescues, city sieges, and field battles. The numbers are incalculable. Are these not precisely the methods and tactics by which incompetent rulers reduce the population? Sage kings, by contrast, avoid such practices. Do incompetent rulers reduce the population simply because their methods and tactics are flawed?
Therefore, Master Mozi said: “Eliminating useless expenditures is the way of the sage kings and the greatest benefit to the world.”
Note
This chapter advocates cutting useless luxury spending to double national wealth. It sets utilitarian standards for daily goods and promotes early marriage to boost population, criticizing wars and heavy taxes that reduce residents.
Sage Kings:
Mozi frequently invokes the idealized rulers of antiquity (such as Yu the Great, Tang, Wen, and Wu) as the ultimate standard for governance. In this chapter, they are presented not as mythical conquerors, but as pragmatic administrators who established social laws (like mandatory early marriage) and strictly regulated material consumption to ensure the prosperity and growth of the population.
Moderation in Expenditure / Frugality:
This is one of the core tenets of Mohist philosophy. Unlike Confucianism, which often endorsed elaborate rituals, music, and refined aesthetics as markers of civilization and moral cultivation, Mohism applied a strict utilitarian framework to material culture. Every object and expenditure had to pass a functional test: does it provide tangible, practical utility (e.g., warmth, defense, transportation)? If an item served merely as a status symbol or luxury, it was deemed “useless expenditure” and condemned.
State-Demographic Engineering:
Mozi displays a highly pragmatic, almost proto-Malthusian understanding of state power. He recognizes that in an agrarian society, human labor is the most critical resource. By advocating for state-mandated early marriage (men at 20, women at 15), Mozi proposes a deliberate demographic policy to maximize population growth, directly linking reproductive rates to national wealth and military strength.
Critique of Aristocratic Conspicuous Consumption:
Mozi explicitly targets the aristocratic elite (“nobles”) for their obsession with hoarding pearls, jade, exotic birds, and hunting dogs. In the context of the Warring States period, this was a radical egalitarian critique. Mozi argues that the massive wealth tied up in aristocratic vanity projects should be socially redistributed into the production of public goods (clothing, housing, weapons, infrastructure).
Anti-Militarism as a Demographic Issue:
Mozi connects his anti-war stance directly to his economic and demographic theories. He argues that prolonged military campaigns are not just morally wrong, but economically disastrous because they separate men and women (halting reproduction) and cause massive casualties through battle, disease, and starvation.
圣人为政一国，一国可倍也；大之为政天下，天下可倍也。其倍之，非外取地也，因其国家去其无用之费，足以倍之。圣王为政，其发令、兴事、使民、用财也，无不加用而为者。是故用财不费，民德不劳，其兴利多矣。
其为衣裘何？以为冬以圉寒，夏以圉暑。凡为衣裳之道，冬加温、夏加凊者芊䱉，不加者，去之。其为宫室何以为？冬以圉风寒，夏以圉暑雨。有盗贼加固者，芊䱉；不加者，去之。其为甲盾五兵何以为？以圉寇乱盗贼，若有寇乱盗贼，有甲盾五兵者胜，无者不胜。是故圣人作为甲盾五兵。凡为甲盾五兵，加轻以利，坚而难折者，芊䱉；不加者，去之。其为舟车何以为？车以行陵陆，舟以行川谷，以通四方之利。凡为舟车之道，加轻以利者，芊䱉；不加者，去之。凡其为此物也，无不加用而为者。是故用财不费，民德不劳，其兴利多矣。有去大人之好聚珠玉、鸟兽、犬马，以益衣裳、宫室、甲盾、五兵、舟车之数，于数倍乎，若则不难。故孰为难倍？唯人为难倍；然人有可倍也。昔者圣王为法，曰：“丈夫年二十，毋敢不处家，女子年十五，毋敢不事人。”此圣王之法也。圣王既没，于民次也，其欲蚤处家者，有所二十年处家；其欲晚处家者，有所四十年处家。以其蚤与其晚相践，后圣王之法十年。若纯三年而字，子生可以二三年矣。此不惟使民蚤处家，而可以倍与？且不然已！
今天下为政者，其所以寡人之道多。其使民劳，其籍敛厚，民财不足，冻饿死者，不可胜数也。且大人惟毋兴师，以攻伐邻国，久者终年，速者数月，男女久不相见，此所以寡人之道也。与居处不安，饮食不时，作疾病死者，有与侵就援橐，攻城野战死者，不可胜数。此不令为政者所以寡人之道、数术而起与？圣人为政特无此，不圣人为政，其所以众人之道，亦数术而起与？
故子墨子曰:“去无用之费，圣王之道，天下之大利也。”
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