In his Peking University HSBC Business School lecture on Monday 25 March 2013 Tan Jee Say makes use of this verse from the bible: “In the multitude of people is the king’s honour, but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.” - Proverbs 14:28, King James Version (KJV).
While rulers of the ancient past raise large armies out of huge populations to subjugate their enemies and forage for food and other resources from foreign territories, some see the modern use of the multitudes of new citizens as potential voters, for the preservation of their power and prevention of their destruction.
The King James Bible uses antiquated English that is difficult to understand. Sometimes words are inserted, like the italicised "is", to make the passage clearer. As it was unlikely Proverbs 14:28 was covered during Sunday School class, a search of the online bibles yielded interesting perspectives. The English Standard Version (ESV) translates the same verse from the original Greek this way:
Our curiosity about kingly intention is whetted. Then there is this exposition from the Matthew Henry Commentary about the "two maxims in politics":
"1. That it is much for the honour of a king to have a populous kingdom; it is a sign that he rules well, since strangers are hereby invited to come and settle under his protection and his own subjects live comfortably; it is a sign that he and his kingdom are under the blessing of God, the effect of which is being fruitful and multiplying.
2. That when the people are lessened the prince is weakened; trade lies dead, the ground lies untilled, the army wants to be recruited, the navy to be manned, and all because there are not hands sufficient."
Aiyah, what a long winded way to remind us that, under a lousy ruler, we are cursed, people will not reproduce, i.e. opposite of "being fruitful and multiplying". With the total fertility rate driven south, economy tanks, no one wants to serve National Service. So, die-die, the population figure must be 6.9 million.
While rulers of the ancient past raise large armies out of huge populations to subjugate their enemies and forage for food and other resources from foreign territories, some see the modern use of the multitudes of new citizens as potential voters, for the preservation of their power and prevention of their destruction.
The King James Bible uses antiquated English that is difficult to understand. Sometimes words are inserted, like the italicised "is", to make the passage clearer. As it was unlikely Proverbs 14:28 was covered during Sunday School class, a search of the online bibles yielded interesting perspectives. The English Standard Version (ESV) translates the same verse from the original Greek this way:
"In a multitude of people is the glory of a king,
but without people a prince is ruined."
Our curiosity about kingly intention is whetted. Then there is this exposition from the Matthew Henry Commentary about the "two maxims in politics":
"1. That it is much for the honour of a king to have a populous kingdom; it is a sign that he rules well, since strangers are hereby invited to come and settle under his protection and his own subjects live comfortably; it is a sign that he and his kingdom are under the blessing of God, the effect of which is being fruitful and multiplying.
2. That when the people are lessened the prince is weakened; trade lies dead, the ground lies untilled, the army wants to be recruited, the navy to be manned, and all because there are not hands sufficient."
Aiyah, what a long winded way to remind us that, under a lousy ruler, we are cursed, people will not reproduce, i.e. opposite of "being fruitful and multiplying". With the total fertility rate driven south, economy tanks, no one wants to serve National Service. So, die-die, the population figure must be 6.9 million.