"When food and clothing are sufficient, one knows propriety" and "Peace prevails when food is sufficient": The philosophy of supporting society through "food" as seen in Guan Zhong and Momofuku Ando
Guan Zhong, the Prime Minister of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period, and Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin Food Products who invented instant ramen.
Under normal circumstances, one would rarely compare these two individuals.
One is a politician from ancient China.
The other is an entrepreneur from post-war Japan.
However, when I saw Momofuku Ando's motto, I suddenly thought of Guan Zhong.
That was the phrase,
“Creating food for the world”
“Peace prevails when food is sufficient”
which was the term.
When I saw this, I realized it was surprisingly close to Guan Zhong's philosophy of,
“When food and clothing are sufficient, one knows propriety”
which was the philosophy.
Both of them viewed “food” not merely as a meal, but as,
the foundation of social order and civilization
they saw it as.
Guan Zhong's philosophy
“When food and clothing are sufficient, one knows propriety”
One of Guan Zhong's famous sayings is,
“When the granaries are full, people know propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, they know honor and shame”
which is a saying.
This is not merely a moral argument.
It is, in fact, the opposite.
It is a highly pragmatic theory of statecraft that states, "In a state of hunger, people cannot maintain etiquette."
In other words, Guan Zhong believed that:
preaching morality in a state of poverty is meaningless
if life is unstable, social order will collapse
to stabilize a nation, one must first focus on the economy
organizing food and distribution is the top priority
he thought.
For this reason, he implemented reforms heavily focused on economic policy, such as:
promoting commerce
improving distribution
state monopolies on salt and iron
price regulation
fiscal management
and so on.
What is important here is that Guan Zhong understood that a nation cannot be maintained through moralizing alone.
Before demanding nobility from people, his philosophy was:
"Feed them first"
that was his philosophy.
The philosophy of Momofuku Ando
"Creating food for the world" and "Food brings peace to the world"
On the other hand, Momofuku Ando's philosophy also contains an extremely strong sense of realism.
His personal motto was,
“Create food and serve the world”
“Create food and serve the world.”
Furthermore,
“When food is sufficient, the world is at peace”
is a phrase he also left behind.
This is the philosophy that,
“When food is sufficient, the world will be at peace”
is the core idea.
What is surprising here is that this idea has almost the same structure as that of Guan Zhong.
Momofuku Ando also witnessed the chaos of post-war Japan and experienced
food shortages
ration lines
black markets
unstable life
he experienced these.
And so,
when food is scarce, society becomes unstable
he became convinced of this.
That is why the instant noodles he created were not merely food.
Can be stored
Can be made quickly
Can be transported anywhere in the world
Can be used during disasters
Can be eaten by anyone
They were, in fact, a "food infrastructure."
What the two had in common
Understanding that "hunger" destroys civilization
What Guan Zhong and Momofuku Ando had in common was
that hunger destroys social order
the point that they understood this.
When in a state of hunger,
crime
riots
radical ideologies
social unrest
distrust in the state
and the like increase.
That is why both of them,
Grit
Spirituality
Endurance
They did not try to support society with these alone.
What was needed first was
a system for the stable supply of food
.
This perspective remains extremely important even today.
No matter how high-minded the ideals, if the supply chain collapses, society will waver.
Even in the age of AI, humanity cannot survive without eating.
In other words, the foundation of civilization is still, after all, the "stomach."
However, their philosophies are not the same.
That said, there is also a major difference between the two.
Guan Zhong emphasized food for the sake of the "state."
Guan Zhong's goals were
a wealthy country and a strong army
national stability
hegemony
political order
.
Enriching the people is, in the end, also for the purpose of building a 'strong nation'.
For that reason, he actively utilized
monopolies
market manipulation
economic guidance
and other such methods.
In short, Guan Zhong was looking at
'food' as a means to keep the state running
.
Momofuku Ando prioritized food for the sake of 'people'
On the other hand, Momofuku Ando had more of a consumer perspective.
At the center of his philosophy is the idea of
'not letting people go hungry'
.
That is why his products evolved in the direction of being
accessible to anyone
available anywhere
ready to eat immediately
.
Cup Noodles is not just a product, but
An invention that lowers the cost of living for humanity
was what it was.
In other words, Momofuku Ando was
looking at "food" as a means to support people.
He was looking at it.
"Food" is the foundation of civilization
Today, we live in an information society, an era where AI and semiconductors are in the spotlight.
However, the foundation of civilization remains unchanged.
People cannot live without eating.
That is precisely why
Guan Zhong said, "When food and clothing are sufficient, one knows propriety,"
and Momofuku Ando said, "Peace prevails when food is sufficient."
Although they lived in different eras, they both shared the understanding that
society only becomes peaceful when food is stable.
They understood this.
However,
Guan Zhong viewed food as a way to support the state,
while Momofuku Ando viewed food as a way to support people,
which is the difference between them.
Therefore, when you compare these two,
What meaning has "food" held in civilization?
We can even see the shift in that philosophy.