 The underlying aim of the second half of the “Lesser Selection” is to clear up such confusion and by so doing lay the groundwork for defending Mohist positions. (Two positions mentioned specifically are those on capital punishment for bandits and on the rejection of  fatalism.)  Toward this end, the text identifies five kinds of cases in which “expressions” (cí 辭) are used differently. The first two are “this and so” and “this but not so”; the others are “not this but so,” “one universal and one not,” and “one this and one not this.” An effective way to illustrate the Mohists’ approach here is to consider their defense of capital punishment, which turns on the distinction between the first two kinds of cases. Mohist communities prohibited murder, punishing it by  death.[34]  They also apparently advocated capital punishment for, or at least lethal self-defense against, the roving gangs of robbers who terrorized small communities and traveling merchants. The “Lesser Selection” implies that they were accused of inconsistency for these positions. Robbers are people, so killing robbers is killing people. If killing people is wrong, isn’t killing robbers wrong? Moreover, Mohist ethics advocates caring inclusively about all people. Since robbers are people, caring about robbers is caring about people. Killing them seems inconsistent with caring about them. 