Example Of MO Tzu And The Harm Of Music Book Review

The three concerns of the people are food to appease hunger, clothing to prevent against cold, and rest when they are tired. Mo Tzu’s believes that the making of music prohibit people from having these three things because it will occupy men when they could be growing food, women when they could be making clothing, and both when they could be resting. This argument makes sense in that good or great music takes time to practice and perfect. However, the fact that no time is available to devote to music, even an hour, seems unreasonable. However, given the strenuous nature of the work in the fifth century BCE, this conclusion is logical.
According to Mo Tzu’s music affects the government because it distracts rulers, ministers, and gentlemen from their duties hearing cases, directing the government, and collecting taxes, among other things. Without these things happening, the government and country might fall into ruin because quarrels are not solved, taxes are not collected to supply government programs, and the country itself lacks direction. Additionally, if one person listens to music or attends a performance, he will most certainly invite others so as to add value to the occasion and thus distract more men from their work.
Humans are fundamentally different from animals in that most of their needs are not as easily found in nature. For example, the skin, fur, feathers, scales, hooves, and claws of each animal serve as their clothing; they do not need to produce anything else. Additionally, while animals do need to gather or hunt their own food, they do not cook or prepare it in any extravagant way as humans do. Thus, they have more time to devote to other measures, unlike humans.