Three Basis for Government

Three Bases for Government

In government , the Lao-tzu says , it is important that the people be kept constantly without knowledge and without desires (Blythe 1992 Not to be misconstrued as a kind of political technique designed to manipulate or coerce , this means that they be allowed to safeguard their true nature ' Government must in the final analysis abide by naturalness and nonaction . The sage ruler naturally never puts himself first or claims credit for his accomplishments . Consequently , the people are not aware that he has brought and well-being to the world

assuming that the good fortune they enjoy has come about spontaneously Ultimately the ruler himself must embrace nonaction so as to establish a model to transform the people - that is , to enable those under the spell of desires to reclaim their true nature . Specific policies or techniques of government are secondary and must be forgotten ' if nonaction were to be realized . Government by nonaction is not mysterious ' however It does not involve mystical or esoteric practices , but rests on the claim that the transforming power of Tao , defined in terms of naturalness and exemplified by the ideal sage-ruler , would spontaneously permeate the mind and heart of the people . There is perhaps a degree of optimism to this view , but one which to Wang Pi is well justified . This is because the all-encompassing of tzu-jan extends to the sociopolitical level . The institution of family and state is not extrinsic to nature . More specifically , the hierarchical structure of sociopolitical institutions reflects the principles governing the Taoist world . This explains Lao-tzu 's claim that Taoist self-cultivation , which Wang Pi again relates to realizing one 's true nature , has a direct impact on the well-being of the family and the country (Blythe 1992

In this light , such concepts as nonaction , quietude acquire a more concrete meaning . In the Ho-shang Kung commentary , these concepts are subsumed under the rubric of securing the One (shou-i . In the Lao-tzu itself , the expression embrace the One (pao-i ) is used twice but Ho-shang Kung prefers the word shou to emphasize the importance of securing ' what has been embraced ' In other words ideal government , both politically and with respect to the interior life , depends on the ruler 's ability to acquire and to maintain the One ' and to guard against harmful influences

For the ideal but practical , new democratic state , Jefferson coined the word sociocracy . Jefferson 's ideal government is neither individualistic nor collectivist . It consists of a dictatorship of three wise men who represent the technological , the temporal , and the spiritual spheres Final veto rests in the spiritual officer in whom alone are found wisdom , philosophy , and moral ends . The temporal power , however , acts according to the laws of nature expressed through the social forces , and is guided in all things by social science . Jefferson was fundamentally right in believing that unless sociologists controlled the state , the social problem would never be solved . The first step toward the ideal government , therefore , was to indicate just what...