A modern English adaption of the Analects of Confucius.
Even though the head of the Chi family was wealthier than the Duke of Zhou, Ran Qiu collected more taxes to make him even richer.
Confucius said, “He’s no follower of mine. My students, you have my permission to beat the drum and attack him if you want.”
Duke Ai asked Youzi, “We’ve had a famine this year and there aren’t enough revenues to run the state. What should I do?”
Youzi replied, “How about a 10% tax, as the Zhou used to levy?”
Duke Ai replied, “I can’t even get by on a 20% tax! How could I manage on 10%?”
Youzi said, “If the people have enough, you’ll have enough. But if the people don’t have enough, how can you expect to have enough?”