THE ART OF WAR - A Unique Analysis Of Specific Quotes In A Macrocosmic Context - Part 5

This series extracts useful resources that can be used to help end slavery.  

The Art Of War is one of the oldest, most famous, and influential writings on military strategy ever.  

My purpose here is not to examine aspects of it in the context of mass murders called wars.  

The aim here is to gain useful information that can help humanity end its current condition of slavery.      

The translated version we'll use is from:

https://ia800502.us.archive.org/12/items/TheArtOfWarBySunTzu/ArtOfWar.pdf 

For those who might have missed the first 4 parts of this series, I recommend catching up before continuing, as this will help to understand some of the concepts and terminology from this point forward.  

Part 1

https://steemit.com/anarchy/@steeminganarchy/the-art-of-war-a-unique-analysis-of-specific-quotes-in-a-macrocosmic-context

Part 2

https://steemit.com/anarchy/@steeminganarchy/the-art-of-war-a-unique-analysis-of-specific-quotes-in-a-macrocosmic-context-part-2 

Part 3

https://steemit.com/anarchy/@steeminganarchy/the-art-of-war-a-unique-analysis-of-specific-quotes-in-a-macrocosmic-context-part-3 

Part 4

https://steemit.com/anarchy/@steeminganarchy/the-art-of-war-a-unique-analysis-of-specific-quotes-in-a-macrocosmic-context-part-4 

And now we begin.  Here's the quote and the location in the pdf text.

From page 39 – Chapter 4 – Paragraph 6

“Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting.”

What is a “skillful leader”?

Each individual has the potential to “lead” in a myriad of situations.  An individual leads by example.   To be a leader in the fight for freedom and against slavery, a “skillful leader” would be an individual who knows objective Natural Moral Law and takes right action based on this knowledge.    

What is an "enemy"?

Does the enemy have “troops”?

I don’t like using the terms "enemy" or “troops” because of their militaristic connotations.    

However, in order to keep with the analogy of this Art of War quote, I’ll use the term “troops”.  The term "enemy" could be used interchangeably with "troops" in what follows.  Allow me to explain.    

“Troops” could be looked at in a more abstract manner.  Troops (or the enemy) could be considered ignorance, apathy, lies, fear, and slavery.  

Looking at the quote from this angle, these would be “subdued” with knowledge, empathy, truth, courage, and freedom.    

From a different angle, troops could also be viewed as people who are ignorant of Natural Moral Law, make choices based on the belief in lies (authority, for example), make fearful decisions based in the ego, are apathetic and don’t care for others, and/or take actions that contribute to the system of slavery.   

In other words, people who don’t know that they’re enslaving themselves and others.    

Please don’t take this to mean that I consider, for example, statists to be willing “troops” or an “enemy”.  I mean nothing of the sort.  

Most people are good.  

However, they’ve been tricked into taking actions that enslave themselves and others, regardless of their intentions.  

They’re unknowingly acting as “troops” for the system of slavery, and this condition can be changed. 

Moving onto the next part of the quote.

“subdues….without any fighting”

I’ll look at this from the angle of actual confrontations that cause physical harm, such as gunfights and wars.    

This is key.  It would be ideal to end slavery with zero physically harmful confrontations.  

However, I think this route, unfortunately, is unlikely.  Using physical defensive force is sometimes necessary.  Hopefully, however, the necessity of this will be kept as minimal as possible.    

So how could freedom occur (and slavery end) without any fighting?

Winning hearts and minds.  

Planting seeds of liberty.  

Speaking truth.  

Peaceful disobedience.  

Building voluntary systems that are vastly superior to the current violence-based system.    

For a specific example of winning hearts and minds by speaking truth, convincing a cop to quit this harmful occupation.  Helping them get involved with a voluntary, peaceful, imaginative pursuit.  At the very least, an occupation that isn’t based in violence and, therefore, doesn’t cause slavery.    

Same with “soldiers”, or any other agent of the state.  Or anyone who works at a corporation that is state dependent.  (extortion dependent)

Eventually, if people are not working for these violence-based institutions, it will get progressively harder for those institutions to function.  At some point, those institutions would cease to exist.    

A specific example of peaceful disobedience would be refusing to comply with searches from “cops” or “TSA agents”.  Not paying fines and licensing fees.  Not paying income tax is another example.    

Finally, some examples of building voluntary systems and platforms.  

Voluntary, anonymous digital currencies.  

Open source learning.  

Decentralized energy, food, medicine, transportation, and trade options.  

Counter economics.  

Voluntary, moral arbitration and security concepts.  

Self-sufficiency.    

“Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting.”

To sum up the analysis of the quote:

The “skillful leader” (conscious, moral individual who takes right action) “subdues the enemy's troops” (reduces the amount of  ignorance, apathy, lies, fear, and slavery in the world) “without any fighting” (through peaceful disobedience, speaking truth, and building voluntary, moral systems).    

END PART 5

Part 6 coming soon!

Thanks for your time and attention!

Just say "NO" to slavery!

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