The Enduring Relevance of Sun Tzu: Strategy, Self-Knowledge, and the Gentleman’s Advantage
To pick up a text on military strategy penned over two millennia ago, knowing that its wisdom predates gunpowder, mechanised warfare, and even the concept of nation-states, might feel like embarking on a purely historical curiosity. Yet, upon closing the final pages of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, the overwhelming realisation is not of its historical significance, but of its astonishing, almost unnerving, contemporary relevance. The Art of War is not a chronicle of battles or a manual for battlefield tactics in the conventional sense. Rather, it is a profound philosophical treatise on the nature of conflict, leadership, and the human condition. Sun Tzu, with remarkable conciseness and clarity, distils the essence of successful engagement—whether on the battlefield, in the boardroom, or within personal relationships—into principles that transcend time, technology, and cultural context. What strikes the modern reader most forcefully is the emphasis on avoiding conflict where...