Abstract
The common ground beneath the I Ching, Five-Phase Theory, Karl Marx's Dialectics, and the phase of Exchange we find in economic cycles, is demonstrated through reference to properties and methods of all four concepts. We are not concerned with the value of these perspectives, that is a concern of context analysis. We are more concerned with the commonality in meanings that reflect the IDM template of meaning, modelling our species-nature and as such a generalisation, shining-through the four specialisations and in doing so, allowing us to flesh-out details of those specialisations. This ability to flesh-out details is reflected in the conclusion through the recruitment of one specialisation, the I Ching, as a source of analogy to describe qualities inherent in the realm of Exchange. (The IDM template being too general for fine distinctions to be understandable).
When we map out the phases of Five-Phase with the binary sequence of the I Ching we end up with the phase of METAL spanning the sets of hexagrams with the base trigrams of Lake and Heaven.
When we map out the binary sequence of the I Ching onto the IDM "dimension of precision", the dimension mapped to the characteristics of left/right brain activity, we find strong correlations in the description of general characteristics in expressions of these seemingly 'different' concepts.
When we review the analysis of the cycle of economic activity, as described by economics theorists of the West, we find a correlation in meaning with the phases of Five-Phase theory such that we can map all of these elements together to aid in describing the general 'dimension of precision' that seems to function in us all as a species and so utilise the different perspectives to flesh-out the characteristics we all share as species members.
The realm of METAL from Five-Phase covers the hexagrams of the binary sequence at the 'yang' end, here highlighted:
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01 43 14 34 09 05 26 11 10 58 38 54 61 60 41 19 13 49 30 55 37 63 22 36 25 17 21 51 42 03 27 24 44 28 50 32 57 48 18 46 06 47 64 40 59 29 04 07 33 31 56 62 53 39 52 15 12 45 35 16 20 08 23 02 |
The first eight hexagrams, read from the left, are those with the trigram of Heaven as base. The next eight have the trigram of Lake as base. This area of METAL correlates with the phase in economics called 'Exchange' and deals with the interactions at the retail level of interactions of individuals. The full set of Five-Phase/Economics associations is:
Five-Phase:
WOOD phase (prepare, produce)
FIRE phase (express, distribute)
[in the realm of emotions this sign maps to acceptance and a 'selling' of an ideology etc]
EARTH phase (filter, discern,
intervene - do I 'swallow it' or not?)
METAL phase (absorb, exchange)
[in the realm of emotions this sign maps to a focus on replacement]
WATER phase (process, consume)
These phases, when ordered in their order of derivation rather than activity become:
EARTH, WATER, WOOD, FIRE, METAL and overlay the above sequence of hexagrams right-to-left (yin end to yang end).
Economics:
Production (WOOD)
Distribution (FIRE)
Filtration (EARTH)
Exchange (METAL)
Consumption (WATER)
Karl Marx expounded on these greatly in the mid 1800s in his analysis of Political Economy (in three volumes of
Capital as well as in three volumes on Surplus Value (Collectively considered as volume IV of Capital) and various
other texts). For example, Marx wrote:
"PRODUCTION creates articles corresponding to requirements; DISTRIBUTION
allocates then according to social laws; EXCHANGE in its turn distributes the goods, which have already been allocated,
in conformity to individual needs; finally in CONSUMPTION the product leaves this social movement, it becomes the
direct object and servant of an individual need, which its use satisfies. PRODUCTION thus appears as the point
of departure, consumption as the goal, distribution and exchange as the middle, which has a dual form, since according
to the definition, DISTRIBUTION is actuated by society, and EXCHANGE is actuated by individuals. In production
persons acquire an objective aspect, and in consumption objects acquire a subjective aspect; in distribution it
is society which by means of dominant general rules mediates between production and consumption; in exchange this
mediation occurs as a result of random decisions of individuals." (*my*
uppercase) IN from section 2 - General Relations of Production to Distribution, Exchange, and Consumption in Marx,
K., "Introduction to a Critique of Political Economy" IN C.J.Arthur (ed) of Marx and Engels "The
German Ideology" (International Publishers, 2001)
Note the last section:
"In production persons acquire an objective aspect, and in consumption
objects acquire a subjective aspect; in distribution it is society which by means of dominant general rules mediates
between production and consumption; in exchange this mediation occurs as a result of random decisions of individuals"
Obviously Marx was AWARE of Filtration (here using the term mediation) but he did not attribute it as a phase in
its own right - although he correctly associated mediation to the 'middle' elements of the cycle as a part to distribution
and a part to exchange.
PRODUCTION
DISTRIBUTION (includes filteration rules from society)
EXCHANGE (includes filtration rules from self)
CONSUMPTION
As we shall see, the ORDERING Marx gives here reflects the exact ordering within the Filtration processes we will
identify in five-phase, the 000 element in EARTH that is focused on rules being sourced externally (I Ching trigram
of Earth), followed by the 001 element in EARTH that was focused on personal sense of discernment (I Ching trigram
of Mountain).
PRODUCTION (WOOD - thunder/wind)
DISTRIBUTION (FIRE - fire)
FILTRATION (EARTH - earth/mountain)
EXCHANGE (METAL - lake/heaven)
CONSUMPTION (WATER - water)
When you include Filtration as a phase of its own so you include perspectives other than of those participating
in the 'loop', you include Marx's perspective of rejecting the loop altogether where the attempt to be precise
and so 'distance' himself from Capitalism made him believe he was 'outside' of the loop.
What I mean here is that the loop is part of our species nature and as such you cannot stand 'outside' of it, only
take-up an extreme position in a phase. Here for Marx et al was a filtering position of total rejection and as
such he and others failed to include that perspective as part of the loop.
The ability to map these patterns from Western Economics and Eastern Medicine reflects the GENERAL nature of these
patterns, their being parts of, expressions of, our species nature as a whole. Of special notice is that, being
a product of recursion
so the whole loop is repeated IN EACH PHASE.
Of particular note regarding the cycles is that Marx comes up with two basic
circuits of flow:
(1) C »
M » C Where a commodity (C) is exchanged for money (M) that is then exchanged for a commodity. This is a
traditional, balancing, and so maintaining of integration process. The M was introduced to allow one to hold off
on a direct commodity for commodity exchange, to transfer the value into money that can be used later to get a
commodity of the same value. Overall, things remain balanced and any exploitation is done through the exploitation
of money.
(2) M » C » M' Here we have turned the above circuit 'on its head' where now we use money to buy commodities
that we then sell for (a) our original outlay PLUS (b) a little bit 'extra' - here is the source of the concept
of 'Surplus Value'. In other words this circuit shifts the focus of exploitation from money to the exploitation
of commodities - aka labour and raw materials.
The C-M-C circuit reflects the flow of Qi between nodes. The M-C-M' circuit reflects the recruitment of Qi to make
more Qi, and so the process of exploitation and transcendence over the more traditional focus on integration, transformation
where all we do is shapeshift rather than also transcend - we maintain overall balance where 'exaggerations' are
localised to adaptations to context changes - The exploitation focus is on REPLACING the context altogether with
something considered 'better'. (See the concepts of The
Transformation function and the Transcendence function in IDM).
Focusing our attention upon the realm of Exchange, the characteristics of the trigrams that serve as bases, those
of the trigram of Heaven and Lake, allow us to give finer details to this realm of Exchange where the hexagrams
with a Heaven base reflect concepts of Competitive Exchange and those hexagrams with a Lake base reflect concepts
of Cooperative Exchange.
The activity in this realm of Exchange is expressed as reflecting the 'Law of Identity', of A = A, where:
But this surface of things is not self-sufficient. It is the 'phenomenon of a process taking place behind it'. As a surface it is not nothing, but rather a boundary or limit. Contradiction and therefore movement is located in production. Here there is non-identity [A != A], the extraction of surplus labour disguised by the surface value form and its tendency to limitless expansion.
Thus there are two processes, on the one hand that of the surface, that of immediate identity lacking the motive power of its own regeneration; on the other hand, that beneath the surface, a process of contradiction. Thus in Hegelian terms, the whole could then be defined as 'the identity of identity and non-identity'. In this whole, contradiction is the overriding moment, but the surface places increasingly formidable obstacles to its development..... Value can be realized in an act of exchange and the medium of this exchange is money. But there is no guarantee that these exchanges must take place. The 'anarchy' of the market place is such that overproduction or disportionality between sectors of production can only be seen after the event. Hence trade crises and slumps." Jones, G.S. "Dialectical Reasoning" IN Eatwell, J., et al (1990) "Marxian Economics" Norton
Marx comments on Exchange in Capital Volume 1 where:
In the model of brain function, this realm of Exchange, and so of five-phase METAL, correlates with the realm of singlemindedness, single context thinking, a realm focused on high energy expenditure and of literal mindedness, taking things at face value and so 'immediate', immediate gratification. In the brain the area associated with the above is also the controller of expression, as in the spoken/written word, of handedness, footedness etc etc and overall of precise, LOCAL expression and so of EXCHANGE. (in five-phase the body part associated with exchange is the lungs, reflecting the exchange of oxygen/CO2 with the environment and so the overall concept of breath)
The properties of IDM's Trascendence function are reflected in the focus of exchange where the focus on REPLACEMENT dominates, of X for Y. With the Transcendence function comes the notion of the ability to escape and so be free of some situation, some context, that ties-in the individual or threatens the individual such that the exchange can break that tie/threat. Thus with the Transcendence function comes the notion of, the sense of, Freedom as does a sense of surface Equality.
All of the concepts discussed by Marx are expressions apparently pre-coded in our nature, sourced in the mindless properties and methods of the neuron. As such, Marx's concepts were inevitable discoveries of any analysis of socioeconomic activities in that those activities reflect the properties and methods of our brains interacting with each other in the market place. Marx's "error" was in his own idealism, where his high precision focus forced a replacement mentality to develop such that he imagined socialism replacing capitalism whereas the truth is more that socialism, conservationism, and interventionism have emerged to BALANCE-OUT the extremes that naturally occur with capitalism, and so aim to constraint capitalism, not replace it. (the constraints on modern-day capitalism reflect this balancing-act such that modern capitalism is not as 'unbridled' as it was in Marx's time - the 1850s (and before))
Lenin et al, being more opportunist in thinking, exploited Marx's work but in doing so tried to exploit the 'socialism will replace capitalism' theme, a theme at odds with the nature of reality. Thus the attempts of using socialism to replace capitalism, rather than to constrain it, failed in that the replacement game is the capitalist game and as such being the 'away' team is, was, a distinct disadvantage leading to inevitable loss, the collapse of the 'less focused' team!
The ability to map these concepts sourced in socioeconomic theory to the concepts represented by the hexagrams grouped under the five-phase phase of METAL reflects the universality of the IDM template and from it the I Ching, where the I Ching can be used in fleshing-out details in any discispline in that all these specialist disciplines reflect the same general qualities in meaning but just in different clothes. Thus the details of the realm of Exchange can be extracted and analysed further through the focus on the properties and methods of the sixteen hexagrams of the I Ching associated with the realm of Exchange.
The ability to map the cycle of economics to that of the binary sequence of the I Ching allows us to uncover a fundamental property of the cycle, its roots in recursion and so its self-referencing. Thus within each phase we find expressed all of the other phases, within each part is encoded the whole.
If we focus on the eight hexagrams of the 'competitive exchange' element in the Exchange phase we find:
hexagram 01 - pure competitive exchange (five-phase METAL). Trigram of Heaven doubled. Exaggerating, skill-focused. Singleminded.
hexagram 43 - a touch of cooperative exchange within competitive exchange (five-phase METAL). The focus here is on 'spreading the word', sowing seeds and so integrating rather than the focus on strong differentiating we find in 01 but still spreading THE word and so a competitive focus on this word being better than any others.
hexagram 14 - the trigram of Fire reflects the concept of DISTRIBUTION (five-phase FIRE) in economic cycles, distribution in the context of wholesale rather than retail. The basic characteristics of distribution are covered in the general focus of the text where the emphasis is on directing operations from a core position 'outwards'.
hexagram 34 - the trigram of Thunder reflects the concept of PRODUCTION (five-phase WOOD) in economic cycles, but more so of 'new' materials, be it ideas or material things. In the context of competitive exchange this process is reflected in the act of invigorating, motivating others.
hexagram 09 - the trigram of Wind also reflects the concept of PRODUCTION (five-phase WOOD) but over time, the focus is more on RE-production, manufacture, refinement. In the context of competitive exchange this concept is expressed as the making of small gains, their accumulation to enable one to stand upon those gains and be noticed and so become influencial.
hexagram 05 - the trigram of Water reflects a focus on CONSUMPTION (five-phase WATER). Here the relationship of consumption in a context of competitive exchange is through waiting for the right opportunity to turn up but in doing so also 'networking', socialising (drinking, eating, generally partying!) with others to make relationships useful later on.
hexagram 26 - the trigram of Mountain reflects the concept of FILTRATION (five-phase EARTH) but conditional filtration based on one's sense of discernment developed over years of experience. Here, in the context of competitive exchange, the focus is on holding firm to traditions in the process of exchange.
hexagram 11 - the trigram of Earth reflects the concept of FILTRATION (five-phase EARTH) but uncondition filtration. Here the source of filtering is derived externally, in the form of some rule/law of some sort where one has no personal choice, the exchange is just 'done' and as such is 'balanced' and 'harmonious'.
The above octet iteself reflects the dynamics of dialectics in the relationships of hexagrams where hexagram 01 'opposes' hexagram 11, where the exaggeration in 01 is compensated-for by the focus on balance in 11 and as such reflects the dynamics in Marx's concepts of 'use value' vs 'exchange value' where the former is focued upon BALANCE whereas the latter is focused upon generating surplus value and so an EXAGGERATION.
This dynamic across the octet reflects the overall dynamic of exaggeration/balance, of exploitation/protection we find throughout the dynamic across these dichotomies and over the whole cycle itself (and so the whole I Ching sequence of hexagrams).
We can 'zoom-in' to focus on particular hexagrams in detail where we will find the same patterns repearted - reflecting the whole-in-all-parts focus of the I Ching. The DIFFERENCES are in the relationships to LOCAL CONTEXT as in the language of whatever specialisation we are analysing. Thus if I switch focus to the specialisation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI©®) so the same generic qualities emerge but different labels are used in that the context has switched from SocioEconomics to Personality typing - (see I Ching/MBTI relationships).