This has come up a couple of times recently, so why not make a thread out of it?

Buckle up, it's time for "What is humane? A Dialectical Primer". https://twitter.com/StatesWarring/status/1284447498640125953

Han Fei tends to get portrayed as "the nice legalist", mainly because he could charm the birds from the trees and even dryasdustest old Confucians felt it.

However, as he himself would have been the first to point out, we should not believe him merely because he was believable.

We should not shy away from the fact that in this speech is is pretty much saying, "You know that time when you buried hundreds of thousands of captives alive? You should do more of that."

And the thing is, he's right.

In recent years, it has been observed that well-meaning humanitarian interventions often merely prolong wars, rather than ending them. They give underdogs hope of victory, and keep them fighting long after they would otherwise have given up.

From the level killing fields of Kosovo to "Al Qaeda is on our side in Syria", to the interminable debacle that is the DRC; giving combatants artificial hope prevents an internal equilibrium from being found. It's a variation on the theme of dead aid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dambisa_Moyo#Dead_Aid

After the earthquake in Haiti, UN and other foreign interventionistas prevented the establishment of autocratic rule. Result: Haiti is still a shithole.

Qin refrained from conquering Zhao when it could have rolled in effortlessly. Result: it had to go back and do it all again.

And this isn't because the winning junta would have been composed of pleasant people who ruled with benevolence and justice for all, but because they would have provided stability, which is the source from which every other benefit may spring.

So yes, this speech is a good argument, but for solid rational choice reasons, not because his prose gives you odd sensations in your undercarriage, and if you want to progress towards a better understanding of the world, it's important to distinguish the two motivations.