Lao Tzu and Machiavelli

Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli

The Toa-te Ching is a text which was written many centuries ago. The work is attributed to Loa-tzu and functions as a treatise on the Tao religion. The primary purpose of the writing is as a religious tome designed to instruct and also to inform about the basic tenets of the religion. However, its secondary function is to impart knowledge to potential leaders on what is the best way to deal with the population under their influence. Loa-tzu wrote a treatise to all future rulers of the community to practice in order to be more successful in their leadership and to ensure that they keep control of the population even if they are challenged by other such potential leaders. Similarly, in Machiavelli's The Prince, an unnamed narrator dictates an instruction manual to up and coming members of the monarchy about the correct ways for a royal to behave if he wants to be successful. Many of the pieces of advice provided in the pamphlet seem absurd or even cruel. Leaders who are described as being Machiavellian are usually of the type of character that one would classify as evil. Among these are the ideas that a leader must be above his people specifically that a feared ruler will be less likely to be discounted or his rule threatened and that a ruler who is beloved by his people will appear to be weak in the eyes of his enemies. Frequently Machiavelli and Lao-tzu disagree about the type of leadership that should be aspired to and the type of person who should be allowed to lead. Although the Machiavelli text was written nearly a millennia after the Tao-te Ching, both texts share an interest in the presence of power and in the continuation of that power over a population even through potential threats from enemies or other factions.

One of the most important ways to lead people effectively and without threat of uprising is to manipulate the will of the people. The very first lines of the Tao-te Ching explain Lao-tzu's belief in the importance of manipulation. He writes: "The Master leads / by employing people's minds" (5-6). Manipulation is the ability to convince other people that doing what you wish is in their best interests and thus it is more likely that they will do the actions that you wish performed. Master manipulators can impact the mind of their targets and convince them so thoroughly that they believe the desires of the leader are actually their own wants. People will thus internalize the wishes of the manipulator until they are no longer able to differentiate between their own innate desires and the request and commandments of their leaders. Lao-tzu wants to manipulate others so that they follow the Tao-te Ching instead of listening to their own moral compass, should it not coalesce with the teachings of the Tao. Machiavelli on the other hand believes in manipulation solely for the purpose of resisting insurgence and retaining power (45). This is the one place in which Machiavelli and Lao-tzu agree, although their intentions are very different.

Perhaps the most important lesson that Lao-tzu tries to relate to his readership is the idea that there are characteristics which are to be emulated in a leader and those which are to be avoided at all costs. He believes that the best type of leader will be one who has little impact on the people. That is to say, his presence does not have a daily imprint on the people because he has become such a part of their lives and his orders and beliefs so ingrained upon them, that the man becomes a part of each citizen himself. It is next best to be a leader who is loved, then feared, and finally loathed (Lao-tzu lines 17-19). Machiavelli, on the other hand, disagrees with this statement entirely. He writes that it is far better for a leader to be feared than to be loved because a leader that others are afraid of is far less likely to be trifled with (Machiavelli 46). Should the citizenry fear their leader, then it is unlikely that they will try to rebel against him for fear of what may happen to them in the wake of that failed rebellion. Machiavelli's diatribe about the "proper" type of leadership proves that Lao-tzu's perspective is by far the better of the two viewpoints. The work of Machiavelli has been analyzed as either rich sarcasm or as the worst type of advice. Thus the suggestions that are made by him are inherently incorrect and those that argue the antithesis of his perspectives are inherently the correct ones.

Lao-tzu also advocates peace. A truly great leader will endeavor not to engage his people in warfare. If the person in charge relies on the Tao-te Ching, then he will not need to rely on implying force on others in order to acquire more power. He writes: "For every force there is a counterforce. / Violence, even well intentioned, / always rebounds upon itself" (Lao-tzu 34-36). The premier responsibility of a leader, if he follows the rules of behavior that are dictated by the Tao-te Ching is to protect the citizenry and promote their general warfare. Engaging in acts of violence with other communities will ultimately cost the population because some people will inevitably be wounded or killed in the endeavor. Machiavelli believes that one of the best ways to instill fear in the hearts of men and to maintain and acquire power is to force ones military into action as frequently and with as much violence as is at all possible (Machiavelli 48). His values have very little to do with what is best for the people, but instead what is best for the ruler and how he can best achieve power and then maintain that level or exceed it. Lao-tzu instead wishes to instill values in a leader which will empower that man to best serve the people, rather than himself.