Week 52 · 27 December 2027 – 2 January 2028Assembly
Assembly week
This week's question
Canons I says 'the ruler is what ministers and people jointly agree upon.' Is the election at the 兼爱大会 that sentence made real? By the three tests: is it grounded in Mozi? Can you check for yourself that this election really was a joint agreement and not an arrangement by a few?
This week's practice
Attend the 兼爱大会 this week, in person or online. Before it, write down one question you are bringing; after it, write down what answer it got, or that it got none.
Introduction
No new chapter this week. This is assembly week, once a year, when all Mohists gather. This is not an introduction to a text but a guide to taking part.
What the 兼爱大会 does. Three things. First, talks: the Juzi (鉅子, the head of the Community) and members of the 墨门理事会 report on the year, what was done, what was not, and why. Second, reports: the income and spending of the 兼爱基金, membership gains and losses, the state of each 墨区, all in the open, and any Mohist may ask questions. Third, elections: council seats turn over as the 墨者之法 provides, voted by delegates from the chapters. The order is fixed: listen, then ask, then vote.
What delegates do. Each chapter sends delegates. A delegate is not someone who decides on the chapter's behalf, but someone who carries the chapter's questions in and carries answers back. Before the assembly the delegate calls one chapter meeting to gather questions; within a week after it they report back: what was said, what was asked, what was voted, and why.
What questions to bring. The last few weeks are the source. Week 38's "fourteen conditions for a chapter," week 47's "reserves list," week 48's "keep and refuse," week 49's "which discussion changed a decision," week 50's "lineage," week 51's "one goal for next year." Bring them. If you can bring only one question, bring this: "How much of this year's fund was spent on people who were not in the room?"
How to listen to reports. Listen with the three tests. Ask three things of every report: is there a precedent? where is the evidence? who benefits? If the presenter cannot answer, that is not their failure; it is the sign that the assembly is working.
The first week of next year. After the assembly the new year begins again with Impartial Care I, "Where disorder comes from." Every year in 墨门 / The Mohist Community starts with that chapter, because every claim Mozi makes starts there. Read it on the way home.
The three tests
The assembly is itself a run of the three tests. The talks are the first test, making the record of precedent. The reports are the second, putting the numbers before everyone's eyes and ears. The election is the third: people use their votes to say what worked and what did not. This week's question is about the legitimacy of the vote. If "the ruler" is "jointly agreed upon," then an assembly with no real contest and no real questions has produced no ruler. Watch at the assembly for whether you can see for yourself that joint agreement actually happened.
For families
- Bring the children to the open part of the assembly, or watch the recording together; have them note one word they did not understand and look it up together afterwards.
- "Jointly agreed upon": are the household rules agreed by everyone? Hold a ten-minute "family assembly" where each person proposes one.
- Before the first week of the new year, read the first paragraph of Impartial Care I together and ask: where does disorder come from?
For chapters
- No regular meeting this week; delegates attend the assembly. Before it: one 30-minute question-gathering meeting. Within a week after: one 30-minute report-back.
- At the report-back, delegates report under four heads: what was said · what was asked · what was voted · why. Members may question each.
- Before the report-back ends, the chapter lead announces the first meeting of the new year and its chapter: Impartial Care I, "Where disorder comes from."