The writer of "Tao-te Ching" is unknown but many believe it to be the work of Lao-Tzu, which translates to "Old Master". Many say that Lao-Tzu lived in the sixth century B.C. Lao-Tzu's writing formed the basis of the religion Taoism.
The "Tao-te Ching" is basically a document about how to build a good nation with a proper government and good ethnic values. Some parts of the writing suggest that the Tao is the All-Knowing Ruler of the Universe. The text tells us to look beyond ourselves and be one with the Tao, even though we are not completely sure what the Tao is.
Lao-Tzu says that money and possessions are a burden to the soul and are valueless and meaningless. He states that one who is at liberty and enlightened will look down on the materialistic.
Lao-Tzu suggests that politicians take action only when necessary and remain inactive otherwise. He is against doing useless activities. His words are: "the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything." His ideology reduces the power of the government and gives more power to the people. Lao-Tzu states that a leader will provide for all the individuals without anything unnecessary. Lao-tzu thinks that if the people do not know that they are being govern, they will be able to achieve greater things by themselves. Lao-tzu does not believe in control or fixed plans. He believes that if you leave it be, the world will control itself.
"Tao-te Ching" was written to be used as a handbook for politicians. It describes the values that a ruler should have. To our modern time, the statements in this writing may seem strange and different. I can't imagine a country functioning properly without a stern hand from the government. Perhaps Lao-Tzu's words could have helped the system of another time.
Lao-Tzu's thoughts are idealistic. If the world could function the way the Tao-te Ching suggests, a lot of our problems would be fixed and we would be living on a peaceful planet. However, planet earth and its inhabitants are not so "simple" anymore. There is always one rotten egg in the dozen. If the world attempts to function in the ways of Taoism, the tyrants would rise and rule. Lao-Tzu tells us to remain complacent with the way we live. In modern times, people thrive to improve their way of living. So, people would not like Lao-Tzu's thought of being satisfied. Overall, Lao-Tzu's teachings would be ideal, but would not work in our modern society.
Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Qualities of the Prince" takes a different direction compared to Tao-te Ching. Machiavelli's writing takes a more strict approach when it comes to governing. Lao-Tzu "assumes" that people are all good whereas Machiavelli "assumes" that people are all bad. Machiavelli's method is more practical to our modern time. His statements are more personal whereas Lao-Tzu's thoughts are from a detached view.
Machiavelli's writing is more of a How-To book compared to Lao-Tzu's more poetic "spiritual" writings.
Hi Jason,
ReplyDeleteNice summary of the two texts. For future readings, I'd suggest you try to do less summarizing and more analyzing. There are two comments you make here that I find intriguing. I agree with you that Machiavelli's text reads more like a how-to guide, as compared to Lao Tzu's more poetical text. How do the conventions of these two genres affect the way we read them? The other thing you say I find intriguing is that Lao Tzu's philosophy wouldn't work well in contemporary circumstances. Why wouldn't it? This is a place where you could analyze more rather than simply summarizing. Say more about why it wouldn't work.