Morning Three, Evening Four: A Daoist View on Choices
Zhuangzi told of a monkey keeper who had to ration acorns in a bad year. In good times he fed four in the morning and four in the evening—eight a day—and the troop was content. Then came a poor harvest. He gathered the monkeys and spoke plainly: “This year, only seven a day.”
He first proposed: three in the morning, four at night. The monkeys erupted—anger at the morning loss. So he reframed: four in the morning, three at night. Joy returned. The pile was the same seven; the feeling was not.
Timing is emotion
American tax politics repeats the fable. Democrats prefer more upfront taxes and services now—four in the morning, three at night. Republicans prefer lower taxes now and more burden later—three in the morning, four at night. The total—deficits, services, and future liabilities—must still add up.
Same seven acorns
Budget math is mostly timing. “When” changes how we feel about the same “how much.” Voters—like Zhuangzi’s monkeys—often react to the schedule, not the sum. Smart people are not immune; clever minds can be very short-sighted when mornings feel empty.
The keeper’s lesson
The keeper didn’t change reality; he changed framing. Zhuangzi laughs: naming and timing rule our minds. Democracy argues over the calendar while the harvest sets the limit.
—Dong Zhang