Hen Fei-tzu Spoke a Truth That Modern Economists Still Don't Know

Twenty-five centuries ago a Chinese philospher spoke a truth that economists today still don't understand.

“People at present think that 5 sons are not too many and each son has five sons also, and before the death of the grandfather there are already 25 descendants. Therefore people are more and wealth is less; they work hard and receive little.”Han Fei-tzu c.500B.C.

I’ll bet that Han Fei-tzu made that argument as many times as I have, but like now, the mainstream media in his day wouldn’t print it on parchment. The Emperor believed that if he grew the population, he would grow more power and prosperity. I wonder if he offered Child Benefits? Was there an Emperor Layton back then?

Tim Murray