Back to the hall
L
Ancient World
Laozi
c. 6th century BCE · Daoism
The best ruler is barely noticed.
In their words
“The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.”
The tradition surrounding Laozi's Daodejing argues that the more prohibitions and commands a ruler issues, the poorer and more disorderly the people become. Governance by wu wei, acting without forcing, leaves room for people to order their own lives. It is the oldest surviving argument that heavy rule damages the very thing it claims to protect.
Why it matters for freedom
His case that the least governing leaves the most living is the oldest argument for a stateless order.
Who they stood against
the ritual state and the moralists who thought order had to be imposed from above