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A Prince By Lao Tzu

Good Essays

Rattling the Cages
The actions of individuals are controlled essentially by one thing, the mind of that individual. The citizens of this world are able to partake in any actions they desire. People should forget the thought of limits and restraints and everything should govern itself. Doing nothing will allow everything to harmonize with each other. These ideas come from the writer Lao-tzu in the piece called “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching.” Lao-tzu presents many idealist ways in his writing. The main focus is on the idea that people are able to govern themselves and partake in the actions they desire without restraint. As he wisely states, “Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place (206, Lao-tzu).” This advice is …show more content…

Restraint is an aspect that is required today in order to have a successful government and society. Without limiting certain elements of culture, such as military and pollution, society would slowly decay. Society should incorporate both the idealistic ways of Lao-tzu and the realistic ways of Machiavelli in restraint in order to maintain civility. The advice given by Lao-tzu is idealistic and revolves around the idea of practicing nothing. First is the idea that civilians of this world are able to govern themselves; limits and restraint must not exisit. The government would still exist, but not present itself in the daily lives of the people; the ability to carry out actions more freely would increase. The government should be able to rule and the citizens not be aware of its existence. Freedom on all levels allows true happiness to prevail. People would be content in their own ways and not want to leave the country and travel. Ultimately, by practicing nothing, all the elements of the world would simply fall into place and maintain themselves. Sadly, the outcome of pure happiness would not prevail. With no limits or laws, individuals are free to do as they please. This would not result in perfect harmony between people, but would create more chaos. Not all humans possess good morals to discourage them from violent and criminal behavior. Laws and restraints are crucial to have

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