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MENTAL MODEL · M11797

Economical Use

Economical Use
CultureHigh supportChinese Philosophy
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Updated 2026-08-15

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Jie yong, economical use, is Mozi's doctrine of cutting all extravagant waste and directing the saved resources into production. The core proposition is that under a resource constraint survival depends on removing expenditure that adds no value, such as the elaborate rites and long mourning Mozi attacked, and on steering what is freed into food, clothing, and defense. The key qualification is that what is cut is uselessness and not the productive base, since an austerity that starves production is another form of waste rather than economical use.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Spend classification: sort every expense into what creates value and what only decorates. - Decorative cut: remove the spending that exists for face or ritual alone. - Redirection: point what is saved at the productive or survival loop rather than an idle reserve.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Resources are finite and nonproductive spending competes with productive spending for the same pool, so every unit spent on display is a unit withheld from the activities that sustain life and fighting strength. Removing the display frees the unit without reducing any real capability, which is why economical use raises rather than lowers capacity, until the cut reaches the productive base and the logic reverses.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8A%82%E7%94%A8ZH · Explicit
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