![]() ![]() Sun Tzu cannot guarantee victory to both. ![]() This leads to the inevitable “gotcha!” moment, when critics inquire what happens when two Sun Tzu–educated strategists confront one another. If a general does not follow my estimation and you employ him, he will certainly be defeated, so dismiss him.” 2 That is, Sun Tzu effectively teaches genius and imparts it to the reader. “If a general follows my estimation and you employ him, he will certainly be victorious and should be retained. If his prescriptions are followed, Sun Tzu guarantees victory. Sun Tzu, on the other hand, has commonly been criticized for providing a “cookbook” of strategic tips, a how-to guide not just for winning in war but for winning easily and with style. Derek Yuen has suggested that Sun Tzu’s use of contradictory pairs (e.g., friend-ally, weak-strong, etc.) provides a method of analysis in war which “contrasts greatly with Clausewitz’s coup d’oeil (or intuition) of the military genius, or his concept of genius as a whole,” which Yuen considers a “super-concept” that “has largely remained an intellectual black box throughout work.” 1 Yet this comparison is beside the point and misunderstands the full role of genius in Clausewitz’s understanding of war. In the context of comparisons with Sun Tzu, Clausewitz has been criticized for his much-discussed notion of genius. This article will focus on two criticisms, one each concerning Clausewitz and Sun Tzu. Each is praised widely for his work, but each is also criticized, sometimes unfairly. ![]() ![]() Of the two, Clausewitz has enabled a much larger modern cottage industry of commentary in strategic studies, whereas in the West, Sun Tzu has been adopted most prominently by business strategists seeking to mine ancient wisdom for commercial success. Ostensibly representative of the Western and Eastern strategic traditions, Carl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu are often compared as the preeminent authors on war and strategy. ![]()
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