Lao-Tzu‚ Machiavelli‚ and the American Government Lao-Tzu’s "Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching" and Machiavelli’s "The Qualities of a Prince" both have the ultimate goal of making better leaders. The tactics that each writer chooses to present as a guide for the leader are almost opposite of each other. Today’s American government would benefit from a combination of the two extreme ideas. Lao-Tzu’s laissez-faire attitude towards the economy‚ as well as his small scale‚ home defense military is
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Cathey 1 Cody Cathey English Comp 2 Gena Messersmith February 9‚ 2015 Compare and Contrast Lao Tzu and Machiavelli Most people have differences on multiple things. Preferences change depending on who you are and what your views on life are. This was the case between Lao Tzu and Machiavelli. Most differences start on the subject of war. In Machiavelli ’s story "The Qualities of a Prince"‚ he talks about always being on your toes as a leader. You have to be ready to go to war at all times‚ no matter
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Lao Tzu and Niccolo Machiavelli Lao Tzu and Niccolo Machiavelli are two philosophies that show the people the basic foundation of how the government should run. They both talk about the art of governing the country. Their views and concepts of what makes a proper leader and how the government should work are extremely different from each other. At the same time‚ their lessons which they both have taught us are still relevant till today for the modern society. Lao Tzu is following the idea of enlightenment
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effect of actions revolve mostly around how people treat each other. Lao-Tzu largely focuses on how a leader treats his people in “Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching”. He encourages those in power to not force anything in their actions but to just go with the flow of what is occurring around them. When this is done and when the leader actively works for peace‚ avoids war‚ and follows the Tao‚ the country is at its greatest. Lao –Tzu advises that the people should be left to themselves and to lead so subtly
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Lao Tzu idea and concept of what makes a proper leader and how the government should work is extremely different than Niccolo Machiavelli. Lao Tzu’s view is the ruler believes that to gain respect and love from people‚ you should give them their freedom‚ don’t force rules on them or even act powerfully. But at the same time Machiavelli’s view of the good leader is that the prince should maintain his power by having a powerful and structured government and strong rules so he could have an overall
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The genre of a text can make an immense impact on the way one reads and interprets a novel. I will be focusing on the text Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu and Plato’s Five Dialogues. Both of these readings are written quite differently. Tao Te Ching is written as a poem and has more of a self-interpretative aspect to it. On the other hand‚ Plato’s Five Dialogues is written in an essay format‚ using dialogue. I will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these writing styles and the interpretive challenges
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These people also demand welfare from the government‚ but are not willing to accept the laws‚ and the people who run the government. Lao-Tzu discusses in Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching how the government should handle its people. In today’s society the government is expected to define right and wrong and punish the law breakers‚ who may not share the same morals as the government. These people who break laws may have thought that what they were doing was correct. Lau Tzu would not do this. He does not
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Lao-tzu Believed in Tao Te Ching: The way things are The Tao is the way‚ law‚ principle. Essence‚ balance of nature 1. The Tao escapes precise definition 2. Tao is intangible‚ it’s energy 3. Tao is powerful‚ humans are weak 4. Radical Naturalism Tao is a force of nature not a force of spirit * Art over science art is wiser‚ deeper * Intuition over logic * Nature over society. Social Pessimism (Escapism) Every society is corrupted bureaucracy society restricts
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Ruling a country effectively is executed through a variety of methods. Lao-Tzu‚ a follower of Taoism‚ expresses his belief on the most efficient way to govern. "The more prohibitions you have‚ the less virtuous people will be. The more weapons you have‚ the less secure people will be. The more subsidies you have‚ the less self-reliant people will be" (25). This quote from Lao-Tzu can be interpreted many different ways. The author discusses what he feels the role of a leader should be‚ the restrictions
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Lao-Tzu‚ Machiavelli‚ and the American Government Lao-Tzu’s "Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching" and Machiavelli’s "The Qualities of a Prince" both have the ultimate goal of making better leaders. The tactics that each writer chooses to present as a guide for the leader are almost opposite of each other. Today’s American government would benefit from a combination of the two extreme ideas. Lao-Tzu’s laissez-faire attitude towards the economy‚ as well as his small scale‚ home defense military
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