Two sides. One debate. 2,000 years of consequences.In 81 BC, Confucian scholars faced off against Finance Minister Sang Hongyang in ancient China's most consequential economic debate. The question: Should the state control key industries, or should the people be free to trade?The scholars won the argument—but lost the policy battle.Their ideas became official ideology. Sang Hongyang's state monopolies became the crisis toolbox. And for the next 2,000 years, every Chinese dynasty flip-flopped between these two systems depending on whether times were good or desperate.This is the Salt and Iron Debate—and it's still not settled.🎯 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:- The Confucian case for "Passive Governance" (small government, free trade)- Sang Hongyang's defense of "Active Governance" (state monopolies, big spending)- Why the "winners" became ideology and the "losers" became policy- How this 2,000-year-old debate predicted modern left vs right arguments