Is the Universe Good?

The author is an economist focusing on institutional economics. The essence of his thinking is institutions. He defines institutions as the equilibrium rules formed by the interaction between individuals, the behavioral rules of organisms, the motion rules of objects, and the Dao of the universe. Starting from this point, the author's thinking extends beyond economics and encompasses politics, anthropology, biology, epistemology, and cosmology. This book is the result of his reflections on these aspects.

All the questions discussed in these knowledge systems can be summarized as "Is the universe good?" The author's conclusion is affirmative. When the result of goodness appears, he refers to it as the result of the rules of goodness in the universe; when a bad outcome occurs, he considers it a violation of the rules of good in the universe.

The first article of this book is "Will Artificial Intelligence Destroy Human Beings?" which discusses current concerns about AI. In addition to posing two issues, "Does AI have the motive to destroy human beings?" and "the paradox of rationality itself," this paper believes that the wiser one is, the more moral one becomes.

The second article, "Why is Random Selection more Effective than 'Rational Choice'?" argues that the Dao of heaven is hidden within endless choices. For finding the best one, a one-by-one trial and error approach becomes unfeasible. Random selection is more effective than 'rational choice' when the optimal choice is unknown.

The third article is titled "Why is Human Nature Good?" This article starts from Mencius's thesis that "human nature is good" and cites the judgment of modern anthropology, which believes that human beings are innately possessed of goodness. Why? Human beings inherit all the rules of all winners before this point in the evolution of the universe.

The fourth article, titled "Filial Piety, Longevity, and the Beginning of Humanity," is a specific case of the views presented in the previous article. It discusses the significance of people's support for their elderly parents in human moral development and the resulting longevity of elderly individuals, who in turn contribute to their families.

The fifth paper, "Fine Equilibrium and China's Economic Reform," is an economics paper in which I provide an example of a parking fine and construct a small model based on it, with which I explain the reform in China.

The sixth paper, "Partial Property Rights Theory and the Illusion of State-owned Enterprises," is also a paper discussing economic issues in mainland China. SOEs rely on their political resources to gain monopoly power and access free state-owned resources without sharing profits, which attracts a large number of competitors who threaten the positions of people currently in SOEs.

The seventh article, "Respect the Constitutional Rule and be Invincible under Heaven," can be seen as a political analysis of domestic and international rule-based issues in mainland China in recent years. Here, "constitutional rule" refers to the market, the rule of law, and freedom of expression.

In the eighth article, "On Permanent World Peace from a Political Anthropology Perspective," I point out that, although millennia of religious teachings have significantly contributed to a reduction in violence compared to ancient times, human conflicts are escalating. This escalation can be attributed to the fact that religious teachings also contain certain "exceptions" that allow for violence under specific circumstances.

The ninth article, "Why is 'Following Human Nature called Dao?'" aims to explore an ancient concept through the lenses of modern cosmology, biology, and anthropology. This concept originates from the opening statement of the Doctrine of the Mean.