The Wisdom of Laotse - A Libertarian Review

I shall first discuss the layout of this book--the 1948 Modern Library edition (1). The editor has kept the original Laotse text at the beginning of each chapter; however, he then usually includes related writings on the topics by Laotse's greatest disciple, Chuangtse. These additional writings are very useful in expounding the ideas of Laotse, and in a manner than any regular layman can readily comprehend. This is not to say that all of Laotse's writings are hard to grasp, but they tend to be quite philosophical and may require many re-readings to fully comprehend.

The main tenant of Taoism is that all things in the universe originated from the same source, what the authors term "the Tao". The authors then spend the rest of the book spelling out the implications of this. Some of the main ideas expressed are as follows (in no particular order):

• Life and death is a natural cycle; thus, do not mourn one's passing
• All distinctions in the world are arbitrary; they result from differing viewpoints
• The world is in a constant state of change; worldly things are temporary in nature
• Worldly desires tend to lead to the destruction of character/one's self
• Inaction--allowing natural forces to take place--is how to realize one's highest self 
• Be like water; benefit all, compete with none (be humble)
• Laissez Faire in government allows the citizenry to reach their fullest potential

While much of the book expounds the Taoist world view, the authors also take the time to highlight the differences between their belief system and that of the Confucians. The Confucians' creed boils down to "humanity and justice" in all human interaction, including that of the state. Both of our authors show the reader why this is the wrong course to take--though it sounds quite noble in its intentions--and why Taoism is to be much preferred.

Libertarian Take-away

Murray Rothbard claimed that Laotse was the first libertarian (1). The reader of this book will be quick to find out why. Not only does the main tenant of Taoism--inaction--conform to the libertarian principle of the non-aggression principle, but many of Laotse's subsequent teachings also directly relate to that of libertarianism. For instance, Laotse greatly stresses the harm that "humanity and justice" practiced by the state must always lead to; while extolling the effects that a policy of Laissez Faire in state affairs would result in. He sums this idea up by asking the pertinent question of, "if one cannot take care of himself, how can he take care of the world?". He also touches upon the destructive and immoral nature of war and all forms of violence, going so far  as to say that "the violent man dies a violent death". These are but two of many such nuggets of wisdom that the libertarian will find in this gold mine of a book. This book is highly recommended not only as additional ammunition in the libertarian reader's arsenal, but also due to the positive effects it can have on altering the way the reader looks at the world.


Links 

1. http://www.amazon.com/The-Wisdom-Laotse-Modern-Library/dp/B000EETKIA
2. https://mises.org/library/ancient-chinese-libertarian-tradition 
3.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotse
4.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuang_Zhou