Mo Tzu (c. 470–c. 391 BC)

Chinese philosopher. His pragmatism and anti-Confucian teachings are summarized in a book also called Mo Tzu. His followers formed a group known as the Mohists. The core of Mo Tzu's teaching was frugality, universal love, and the rejection and condemnation of warfare.

Mo Tzu attacked what he saw as the empty formulas of the Confucians by stating that nothing should be undertaken unless it was of clear benefit to the people. He saw this as the necessary guiding principle that governments should follow. He held that if universal love was the norm, nations would not go to war with each other, people would not harm each other, and the wastefulness of dispute and warfare would thus be avoided, benefiting everyone.