Government of the Sages: An Intro to Taoist political philosophy

Not exalting cleverness causes the people not to contend,
Not putting prices on hard-to-get goods causes the people not to steal.
Not seeing anything to want causes the mind not to be confused.
Therefore, The government of the sages empties the mind and fills the middle, weakens ambition and strengthens the bones, always keeping the people innocent and passionless.
It makes the sophisticated not dare to contrive;
action being without contrivance, nothing is disordered.

Tao Te Ching, Chapter 3

The Tao Te Ching is the famous book of poems and sayings that represent the essential philosophical foundation of Taoism. This chapter in particular demonstrates one of the key principles of Taoist political theory. Some of the following is the interpretation of prominent Taoist experts, but some of it is also my own interpretation.

The prominent phrase is that the government of the sages "weakens ambition and strengthens the bones". One of the essential objectives of government is to weaken the ambition of its people, particularly the sophisticated (the clever, intelligent, etc.). Ideally, a state is governed so that the sophisticated have no means of feeding their ambition or satisfying their desire for power and influence. The phrase "strengthens the bones" balances the idea by showing that this is not to be done by disabling the people physically. Taoism does not promote the systematic repression of people for the sake of order and equality.

This principle was widely accepted by the Founding Fathers, although they probably were not aware of the Tao Te Ching and certainly did not express it in such poetic terms. The Founders wanted a system of government where it was made nearly impossible for aspiring tyrants to seize control and satisfy their ambitions. At the same time they devised a Bill of Rights protecting the people from the government's attempts to usurp power or crush the ambitions of the people through use of force. The U.S. Constitution is a grand attempt at weakening ambition while strengthening the bones.

Exalting cleverness is something that unfortunately American society is known for. In Greek times, public figures were often judged on their oratory skills or mastery of rhetoric. This type of cleverness or trickery was often rewarded with elected office. In modern times, we place such an emphasis on not just the oratory skills of public figures, but also physical appearance, voice, and symbolic gesture. The Presidential debates, public speeches, ribbon-cutting events, and other such practices are done because we value figures with such abilities of showmanship. It is something that Taoism abhors and for good reason.

President Obama was highly regarded early in the campaign for his rhetorical skills, good looks, great speeches, and beautiful family. The American people did not seem to place emphasis on his lack of legislative record, or lack of achievement in public service in general. In fact his small record of extreme leftist policy was intentionally ignored because he sounded like a reasonable man who would reach out to moderates and even conservatives. We simply did not want to believe that such an elegant and good looking guy could have the same beliefs as Rev. Wright, Mr. Ayers, or Karl Marx.

The "pricing of hard-to-get goods" is very relevant today. Government is not to control the market through creating demand, as well as controlling or pricing goods. The government is attempting to create value in certain the areas of healthcare, insurance, carbon allowances, and other areas essentially "creating value" and setting prices. The State should not have a role in the economy. In this case, Taoism is clearly in favor of a free market and the Founders were as well.

"Not seeing anything to want" refers to the actual ambition of the State itself and not necessarily one individual or a group of ministers. Today we see the federal government "wanting" more control. In areas of healthcare and cap and trade, the legislation does not actually achieve the state objective (the health plan has been shown to not lower cost or provide better care, cap and trade has been shown that it will not significantly affect carbon emissions). It is not about climate change or lowering the cost of healthcare, it is about control. With more control, and more levers to pull, the government has greater authority and thus public office provides for the ambitious. It is done without the usual visual indicators of ambition like a secret police, a big powerful paramilitary force, or a suspension of individual rights. It is more clever and very well-contrived.

In an ideal system, the State is organized and governed by the rule of law. The rule of law imposes restrictions such as separation of powers, federalism, and Constitutional prohibition on certain acts by the state. A sophisticated aspiring tyrant "dare not contrive" in most cases but not all. We must all be careful and vigilant when the ambitious are allowed to contrive and the sophisticated propose grand designs and promote them through cleverness and showmanship. Some may even try to confuse the meaning of the Constitution in order to move past its potent restrictions. In a State where the Constitution becomes relative, all things are possible for the clever and ambitious.

Sadly, I think we failed in 2008. I think the sophisticated have rallied behind a clever and highly exalted leader with grand ambitions. We must reverse course in 2010 and 2012 and began restoring the legal limitations on the State to "weaken ambition" and while also protect the prosperity and strength of the people "strengthen the bones".