Tao Te Ching · Chapter
LXXV explained
This chapter critiques the oppressive governance and excessive taxation that lead to famine, social unrest, and a disregard for life.
What happens
This chapter critiques the oppressive governance and excessive taxation that lead to famine, social unrest, and a disregard for life. It argues that rulers who overburden the people with taxes and meddlesome governance create the very problems they seek to control, and that valuing life too highly paradoxically makes people reckless with it.
Themes in this chapter
Critique of Conventional Virtue
The chapter challenges the conventional virtue of valuing life highly, arguing that it leads to recklessness, and instead advocates for a simpler, less self-conscious approach to living.
Sage Rulership and Governance
Criticizes rulers who overtax and over-govern, implying that a sage ruler would minimize interference and reduce burdens on the people.
Characters to notice
- Laozi
Author of the Tao Te Ching; this chapter reflects his critique of heavy taxation and over-governance.
Key passages
“The people suffer from famine because of the multitude of taxes consumed by their superiors. It is through this that they suffer famine.”
Famine among the people is caused by the excessive taxes taken by their rulers.
Direct causal link between heavy taxation and popular suffering.
“The people are difficult to govern because of the (excessive) agency of their superiors (in governing them). It is through this that they are difficult to govern.”
The people become hard to rule when their rulers interfere too much in their affairs.
Over-governance creates resistance and disorder.
“The people make light of dying because of the greatness of their labours in seeking for the means of living. It is this which makes them think light of dying.”
People become indifferent to death when their struggle to survive becomes too burdensome.
Extreme hardship in seeking a livelihood leads to a devaluation of life.
“Thus it is that to leave the subject of living altogether out of view is better than to set a high value on it.”
It is better to not focus on living at all than to overvalue it.
Paradoxical advice: letting go of the preoccupation with life leads to a better outcome.