his view, people had formerly lived in peace, without the need for any government, but in the current age, when disorder abounded, scholars had to create written laws with heavy punishments to help the king rule effectively. Punishment would deter crime if it was enforced uniformly on all classes. On Shang’s view, law was an entirely pragmatic matter. Justice had little, if anything, to do with it; nor was there any merit in following ancient tradition.
