Blog Entry #4

Question: New ideas in politics and philosophy tend to emerge in times of social, political, and/or economic stress. How can this be explained?

New ideas in politics and philosophy usually emerge in times of socail,political, or economic stress. This is because in times of turmoil, people are forced to think of ways to solve the fall of their empire for example, and therefore come up with new ideas. When people are happy with how they are, or how their government is, they won't have anything to change or anything to complain about. But when there are problems with the government of economy, people will complain and blame it on whoever is in charge. People want change in times of trouble, and this forces new ideas to emerge and change history. For example, when most of the Shi's were disciples of Confucianism, they were frustrated that Shi Huangdi favored the Legalists. So, when Liu Bang and his successors were in charge, they banned the works of Legalists and instilled Confucious teachings and imperial schools. When there is a problem in the country or economy, it is usually blamed on the president. In order to be introduced to new ideas or change how things are, we elect a new president. So, in times of turmoil, new ideas emerge because people need change and are not happy in the current state of their empire/country.