The quantitative limits that maintain the stability of a thing is the unity of quality and quantity. The two ends of a measure are called critical points or nodal points; beyond the scope of measure, a thing will transform into another. The German philosopher Hegel made the first systematic study of measure. He defined measure as “the qualitative quantum” and held that “in measure, quality and quantity are in one”. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Have a head for figures.” That is to say, we have to attend to the quantitative aspect of a situation or problem and make a basic quantitative analysis. Every quality manifests itself in a certain quantity, and without quantity there can be no quality. To this day many of our comrades still do not understand that they must attend to the quantitative aspect of things – the basic statistics, the main percentages and the quantitative limits that determine the qualities of things. They have no ‘figures’ in their heads and as a result cannot help making mistakes…”
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