Programmatically, Sun subsumed under his _min t'su_ theory, the necessity of a patriotic elite, formed into the party of his followers, which was to unify China and to cultivate a genuine state-allegiance instead of the veneration of a concretely paramount Emperor or other leader. He also advocated that China maintain independence, make independence a reality in which the entire race-nation should share by fostering actual autonomy (hence, democracy), and by fighting defensively against economic exploitation by the imperialist powers. The second principle presented was _Democracy_ (_min ch'üan_). He pointed out that old China was democratic in allowing considerable social mobility, and much equality within the framework of that mobility, and that popular government was a reality in local affairs, while popular supremacy (corresponding to Western theories of popular sovereignty) followed from the universally admitted Chinese right of rebellion. He justified democracy on the grounds that it was commanded by China's antique sages, was necessarily consequent upon nationalism, was decreed by the _Zeitgeist_, was necessary to good administration, and was a modernizing force. But he modified his democracy by a distinction between _ch'üan_ (power) and _nêng_ (ability), keeping government and people perpetually dual, and making the problem of democratic personnel one of popular choice plus the control of popular choice. The programs of democracy involved the revolution of three stages, the five-_yüan_ government, and emphasis on the _hsien_.[10] [Footnote 10: See above, p. 42.] The third principle is based on Sun Yat-sen's own philosophy of history. _Min shêng_, frequently translated "the principle of the people's livelihood," rested upon Sun Yat-sen's belief that history is not based exclusively on materialism and that it cannot be analyzed merely in terms of the ownership of the means of production. He insisted that history was based on the fundamental fact that man has _jên_--humane self-awareness; human fellow-sympathy; consciousness of being located in society, together with orientation by values social, not individually or materially established; benevolence. _Min shêng_ is accordingly an ethical doctrine first, and an economic one afterward. It is the basis of history (_min-shêng wei li-shih-ti chung-hsin_). It presupposes, for China: (1) a national economic revolution against imperialism and for democracy; (2) an industrial revolution for the enrichment of China; and (3) a prophylactic against social revolution. Although showing the influence of Karl Marx, Henry George, and the modern American, Maurice William,[11] the doctrine remained Chinese in spirit, pragmatically collectivist in application. Under the programs of _min shêng_ Sun included the bold projects for which he had sought all his life, desiring the independent, socially just prosperity of his country.