How to understand Laozi's "inaction"?

Lao Tzu is a world-famous philosopher. His wisdom is extraordinary, and his "inaction" thought is difficult for many people to understand. This article conducts a multi-faceted analysis and explanation of Laozi's discussion of "inaction" in "Tao Te Ching".

First, let’s first analyze the basic connotation of Laozi’s management thought of “governing by doing nothing”.

Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" says: "It's too high, and the bottom knows it. Secondly, praise it by being familiar with it. Secondly, fear it. Thirdly, regret it." That is to say, first-class managers believe that they should fully delegate power to their subordinates and allow them to have full autonomy to decide what to do. Therefore, he rarely interferes in the affairs of his subordinates, rarely does work, and rarely does anything. Although his work results are the best, the people below do not know what credit he has, they only know that he is a person. A second-rate leader is willing to get close to the people and pays attention to working in a popular way, so many people praise him and are willing to get close to him. A third-rate leader believes that others must be dignified before others can obey his orders, so the people below him are very afraid of him. The fourth-rate leader believes that the country must use cruel means to rule in order for the country to prosper, so the people below hate him.

Laozi

Rulers who use cruel methods often appear in times of war. They have great ambitions, such as Hitler in Germany during World War II, Mussolini in Italy, Hideki Tojo in Japan, etc. They dreamed of ruling Europe and even the world. In order to achieve their huge goals, they implemented brutal rule. As a result, they aroused strong resistance among the people, setting off the labor movement, democratic movement, communist movement, etc. to fight for the rights and interests of the people. The rulers brutally suppressed the people's movement, resulting in great hatred from the people. Brutal rule often does not last long before it perishes.

Dignified leaders often have sizable goals. They often think that their judgment is very correct, so they want the organization to develop according to their own wishes. Force others to listen to you when they have different opinions. At this time, many contradictions were aroused, making the leadership work more and more difficult.

Second-rate leaders have smaller goals than authoritative leaders. In order to get results, they pay attention to adopting popular methods. They work hard and pay attention to their subordinates and people, so they have received a lot of praise.

The goal of a first-class leader is the smallest, because he is a happy-go-lucky person who can be content under any circumstances. He believes that the country can develop naturally, and in the process of development there will be good times and bad times, and he can accept both good and bad results. Therefore, he rarely interferes or does not interfere with the work of his subordinates, and does little or nothing at all, but his work effect is the best among the four types of leadership. This is what Lao Tzu calls "governing by doing nothing."

Rulers who do little often appear after major social turmoil. Because at this time people saw that cruel rule was the direct cause of social chaos. Whenever social chaos occurred in Chinese history, Taoist figures stood up and used the "inaction" method to govern the country. They rarely interfered in national affairs and took little action, allowing the country to recuperate and recover, and the country gradually recovered.

Tao Te Ching

After the revival of a country, it often turns to Confucianism to govern the country, and the ideas of benevolence, justice and politeness are popular in the country. When the country is in chaos, the country is often governed by Legalist ideas, and the rulers are cruel. There are very few thoughts of benevolence, justice and politeness in society, and tough thoughts are generally popular. Great conflicts arose between the rulers and the people, causing social chaos. After the turmoil ended, he began to govern the country with the idea of ????"inaction". Chinese history has developed continuously in cycles between these three ideas. The historical development of other countries in the world basically follows this pattern.

First-class leaders have the easiest job because they do very little, but they have the best results. It is very difficult for fourth-rate leaders to govern the country and they risk their lives. The result is chaos in the country. It can be said that the easier the leader does, the better the results will be, and the more effort the leader will have, the worse the results will be.

The law of development of things is that when things go to extremes, they must be reversed. After strict management reaches its peak, it will develop in the direction of reducing management. You will then find that: not managing is the best management; not doing is the best doing. This truth can only be understood by those who are content with the status quo.

Second, let’s take a look at other discussions about “inaction” in Laozi’s Tao Te Ching.

Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" says: "I do nothing, and the people become themselves; I like to be quiet, and the people become righteous; I do nothing, and the people become rich." That is to say, if the ruler does not act, the people will still develop according to the laws of nature; if the ruler is a quiet and quiet person, the people's customs will naturally be correct; if the ruler does not do things, and the people do it according to their own methods, they will naturally Get rich.

Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" says: "Governing a big country is like cooking small delicacies." That is to say, in the eyes of highly intelligent people, governing a country is as simple as cooking a small fish. Governing the country with such a simple method refers to leaders who do little or nothing, that is, leaders who "rule by inaction."

Pictures of ruling by inaction

Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" says: "Ruling a country with wisdom will bring harm to the country; not ruling the country with wisdom will bring happiness to the country." That is to say, the more wisdom and skill are used to pursue the prosperity of the country, the more chaotic the country will be. There is no need for wisdom at all, no skill at all, and the rulers do little or nothing, and the country will develop better.

According to my understanding, what Lao Tzu calls "inaction" means inaction. Because those who "do nothing" know that life is about the coexistence of good and bad. If you try your best to pursue good things and avoid bad things, the result will be worse. Only by reducing the pursuit of good things can we reduce the number of bad things in life. If you don't pursue good things, there will be no bad things in life. People who realize this will reduce their actions and eventually achieve inaction. They will only do some of the most basic things in life and become "inaction" people.