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Taoism & Anarchism ANARCHISM IS USUALLY CONSIDERED a recent,
Western phenomenon, but its roots reach deep in the ancient civilizations of
the East. The first clear expression of an anarchist sensibility may be
traced back to the Taoists in ancient The Taoists at the time
were living in a feudal society in which law was becoming codified and
government increasingly centralized and bureaucratic. Confucius was the chief
spokesman of the legalistic school supporting these developments, and called
for a social hierarchy in which every citizen knew his place. The Taoists for
their part rejected government and believed that all could live in natural
and spontaneous harmony. The conflict between those who wish to interfere and
those who believe that things flourish best when left alone has continued
ever since. The Taoists and the
Confucians were both embedded in ancient Chinese culture. They shared a
similar view of nature, but differed strongly in their moral and political
views. They both had an attitude of respectful trust to human nature; the
Christian notion of original sin is entirely absent from their thought. Both
believed that human beings have an innate predisposition to goodness which is
revealed in the instinctive reaction of anyone who sees a child falling into
a well. Both claimed to defend the Tao or the way of the ancients and sought
to establish voluntary order. But whereas the Taoists
were principally interested in nature and identified with it, the Confucians
were more worldly- minded and concerned with reforming society. The
Confucians celebrated traditionally 'male' virtues like duty, discipline and
obedience, while the Taoists promoted the 'female' values of receptivity and
passivity. Although it has helped
shape Chinese culture as much as Buddhism and Confucianism, Taoism by its
very nature never became an official cult. It has remained a permanent strain
in Chinese thought. Its roots lay in the popular culture at the dawn of
Chinese civilization but it emerged in the sixth century BC as a remarkable
combination of philosophy, religion, proto-science and magic. The principal exponent
of Taoism is taken to be Lao Tzu, meaning 'old Philosopher'. He was born
around 604 BC of a noble family in It seems likely however
that the Tao te ching
which is attributed to Lao Tzu, was not written
until the third century BC. It has been called by the Chinese scholar Joseph
Needham 'without exception the most profound and beautiful work in the
Chinese language'.3 The text consists of eighty-one short chapters in poetic
form. Although often very obscure and paradoxical, it offers not only the
earliest but also the most eloquent exposition of anarchist principles. It is impossible to
appreciate the ethics and politics of Taoism without an understanding of its
philosophy of nature. The Tao te ching celebrates the Tao, or way, of nature and describes
how the wise person should follow it. The Taoist conception of nature is
based on the ancient Chinese principles of yin and yang, two opposite but
complementary forces in the cosmos which constitute ch'i
(matter-energy) of which all beings and phenomena are formed. Yin is the
supreme feminine power, characterized by darkness, cold, and receptivity and
associated with the moon; yang is the masculine counterpart of brightness,
warmth, and activity, and is identified with the sun. Both forces are at work
within men and women as well as in all things. The Tao itself however
cannot be defined. it is nameless and formless. Lao
Tzu, trying vainly to describe what is ineffable, likens it to an empty
vessel, a river flowing home to the sea, and an uncarved
block. 'The Tao, he asserts, follows what is natural. It is the way in which
the universe works, the order of nature which gives
all things their being and sustains them. The great Tao flows
everywhere, both to the left and the right. The ten thousand things depend on
it; it holds nothing back. It fulfils its purpose silently and makes no
claim. (34) Like most
later anarchists, the Taoists see the universe as being in a
continuous state of flux. Reality is in a state of process; everything
changes, nothing is constant. They also have a dialectical concept of change
as a dynamic interplay as opposing forces. Energy flows continually between
the poles of yin end yang. At the same time, they stress the unity and
harmony of nature. Nature is self-sufficient and uncreated; there is no need
to postulate a conscious creator. It is a view which not only recalls that of
the Greek philosopher Heraclitus but coincides with
the description of the universe presented by modern physics. Modern social
ecology, which stresses unity in diversity, organic growth and natural order,
further reflects the Taoist world-view. The approach to nature
recommended by Lao Tzu and the Taoists is one of receptivity. Where the
Confucian wants to conquer and exploit nature, the Taoist tries to
contemplate and understand it. The Taoists' traditionally 'feminine' approach
to nature suggests that their way of thinking may well have first evolved in
a matriarchal society. While at first sight it might seem a religious
attitude, in fact it encouraged a scientific and democratic outlook amongst
Taoists. By not imposing their own preconceptions, they were able to observe
and understand nature and therefore learn to channel its energy beneficially.
The Taoists were
primarily interested in nature but their conception of the universe had
important corollaries for society. A definite system of ethics and politics
emerges. There are no absolute Taoist values; for good and bad, like yin and
yang, are related. Their interplay is necessary for growth, and in order to
achieve something it is often best to start with its
opposite. Nevertheless, an ideal of the wise person emerges in Taoist
teaching who is unpretentious, sincere, spontaneous,
generous and detached. For the Taoists, the art of living is to be found in
simplicity, non-assertion and creative play. Central to Taoist
teaching is the concept of wu-wei. It is often
translated as merely non-action. In fact there are striking philological
similarities between 'anarchism' and 'wu-wei'. Just
as 'an-archos' in Greek means absence of a ruler, wu-wei means lack of wei, where
wei refers to 'artificial, contrived activity that
interferes with natural and spontaneous development'.5 From a political point
of view, wei refers to the imposition of authority.
To do something in accordance with wu-wei is
therefore considered natural; it leads to natural and spontaneous order. It
has nothing to do with all forms of imposed authority. The Tao te ching is quite clear about
the nature of force. If we use force, whether physical or moral, to improve
ourselves or the world, we simply waste energy and weaken ourselves: 'force
is followed by loss of strength' (30). It follows
that those who wage war will suffer as a result: 'a violent man will die a
violent death' (42).
By contrast, giving way is often the best way to overcome: 'Under heaven
nothing is more soft and yielding than water Yet for attacking the solid and
strong, nothing is better; it has no equal. The weak can overcome the strong;
the supple can overcome the stiff.' (78) The gentle
peacefulness recommended by the Taoists is not a form of defeatist submission
but a call for the creative and effective use of energy. 'Practise
non-action. Work without doing' (63), Lao Tzu
recommends. In their concept of wu-wei, the Taoists
are not urging non-action in the sense of inertia, but rather condemning
activity contrary to nature. It is not idleness that they praise, but work
without effort, anxiety and complicati on, work
which goes with and not against the grain of things. If people practised wu-wei in the right
spirit, work would lose its coercive aspect. It would be undertaken not for
its useful results but for its intrinsic value. Instead of being avoided like
the plague, work would be transformed into spontaneous and meaningful play:
'When actions are performed Without unnecessary speech, People say, "We
did it!"' (l7).
If people followed their
advice, the Taoists suggest, they would live a long life and achieve physical
and mental health. one of their fundamental beliefs
was that 'whatever is contrary to Tao will not last long' (55), while he who
is filled with virtue is like a new-born child. In order to prolong their
lives the Taoists resorted to yoga-like techniques and even alchemy. The most important
principle at the centre of their teaching however was a belief that 'The
world is ruled by letting things take their course. It cannot be ruled by
interfering.'(48)
The deepest roots of the Taoist view of wu-wei
probably lies in early matriarchal society in
ancient It has been argued that
Taoism does not reject the State as an artificial structure, but rather sees
it as a natural institution,, analogous perhaps to the family.7 While the Tao
te ching undoubtedly
rejects authoritarian rule, it does read at times as if it is giving advice
to rulers to become better at ruling: If the sage would guide the
people, he must serve with humility. Bookchin
goes so far as to claim that Taoism was used by an elite to foster passivity
amongst the peasantry by denying them choice and hope.8 Certainly Lao Tzu
addresses the problem of leadership and calls for the true sage to act with
the people and not above them. The best ruler leaves his people alone to
follow their peaceful and productive activities. He must trust their good
faith for 'He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.' (l 7) If a
ruler interferes with his people rather than letting them follow their own devices,
then disorder will follow: 'When the country is confused and in chaos, Loyal
ministers appear.' (l 8) In a well-ordered society, Man follows the earth. However a closer reading
shows that the Tao te ching
is not concerned with offering Machiavellian advice to rulers or even with
the 'art of governing'. The person who genuinely understands the Tao and
applies it to government reaches the inevitable conclusion that the best
government does not govern at all.9 Lao Tzu sees nothing but evil coming from
government. Indeed, he offers what might be described as the first anarchist
manifesto: The more laws and
restrictions there are, Therefore the sage says: Contained within the marvellous poetry of the Tao te
ching, there is some very real social criticism. It
is sharply critical of the bureaucratic, warlike and commercial nature of the
feudal order. Lao Tzu specifically sees property as a form of robber: 'When
the court is arrayed in splendour, The fields are
full of weeds, And the granaries are bare.'(53) He traces the
causes of war to unequal distribution: 'Claim wealth and titles, and disaster
will follow '(9)
Having attacked feudalism with its classes and private property, he offers
the social ideal of a classless society without government and patriarchy in
which people live simple and sincere lives in harmony with nature. It would
be a decentralized society in which goods are produced and shared in common
with the help of appropriate technology. The people would be strong but with
no need to show their strength; wise, but with no presence of learning;
productive, but engaged in no unnecessary toil. They would even prefer to
reckon by knotting rope rather than by writing ledgers: A small country has fewer
people. The anarchistic tendency
of the Taoists comes through even stronger in the writings of the philosopher
Chuang Tzu, who lived about 369-286 BC. His work
consists of arguments interspersed with anecdotes and parables which explore
the nature of the Tao, the great organic process of which man is a part. It
is not addressed to any particular ruler. Like the Tao te
ching, it rejects all forms of government and
celebrates the free existence of the self-determining individual. The
overriding tone of the work is to be found in a little parable about horses: Horses live on dry land,
eat grass and drink water. When pleased, they rub their necks together. When
angry, they turn round and kick up their heels at each other. Thus far only
do their natural dispositions carry them. But bridled and bitted, with a
plate of metal on their foreheads, they learn to cast vicious looks, to turn
the head to bite, to resist, to get the bit out of
the mouth or the bridle into it. And thus their natures become depraved.1O As with horses, so it is
with human beings. Left to themselves they live in natural harmony and
spontaneous order. But when they are coerced and ruled, their natures become
vicious. It follows that princes and rulers should not coerce their people
into obeying artificial laws, but should leave them to follow their natural
dispositions. To attempt to govern people with manmade laws and regulations
is absurd and impossible: 'as well try to wade through the sea, to hew a
passage through a river, or make a mosquito fly away with a mountain!'. 11 In reality, the natural conditions of our existence
require no artificial aids. People left to themselves
will follow peaceful and productive activities and live in harmony with each
other and nature. In an essay 'On Letting
Alone', Chuang Tzu asserted three hundred years
before Christ the fundamental proposition of anarchist thought which has
reverberated through history ever since: 'There has been such a
thing as letting mankind alone; there has never been such a thing as
governing mankind. Letting alone springs from fear lest men's natural
dispositions be perverted and their virtue left aside. But if their natural
dispositions be not perverted nor their virtue laid aside, what room is there
left for government?12 'The Taoists therefore
advocated a free society. without government in
which individuals would be left to themselves. But while pursuing their own
interests, they would not forget the interests of others. It is not a sullen
selfishness which is recommended. The pursuit of personal good involves a
concern for the general well-being: the more a person does for others, the
more he has; the more he gives to others, the greater his abundance. As the
Taoist text Huai Nan Tzu put its, 'Possessing the
empire' means 'self-realization. If I realize myself then the empire also
realizes me. If the empire and I realize each other, then we will always
possess each other.'13 Human beings are
ultimately individuals but they are also social beings, part of the whole.
Anticipating the findings of modern ecology, the 'Taoists believed that the
more individuality and diversity there is, the greater the overall harmony.
The spontaneous order of society does not exclude conflict hut involves a
dynamic interplay of opposite forces. Thus society is described by Chuang Tzu as an agreement of a certain number of families and
individuals to abide by certain customs. Discordant elements unite to form a
harmonious whole. Take away this unity and each has a separate individuality
. . . .A mountain is high because of its individual
particles. A river is large because of its individual drops. And he is a just
man who regards all parts from the point of view of the whole.14 Taoism thus offered the
first and one of the most persuasive expressions of anarchist thinking. Its
moral and political ideas were firmly grounded in a scientific view of the
world. Although Taoist philosophy (Tao chia)
contains Spiritual and mystical elements, the early Taoists' receptive
approach to nature encouraged a scientific attitude and democratic feelings.
They recognized the unity in the diversity in nature and the universality of
transformation. In their ethics, they encouraged spontaneous behaviour and self-development in the larger context of
nature: production with possession, action without self-assertion and
development without domination. In their politics, they not only urged rulers
to leave their subjects alone and opposed the bureaucratic and legalistic
teaching of the Confucians, but advocated as an ideal a free and co-operative
society without government in harmony with nature. Taoism was not aimed by an elite at peasants to make them more docile and
obedient. The Taoists social background tended to be from the small middle
class, between the feudal lords and the mass of peasant farmers. Nor were
they merely offering advice on how to survive in troubled times by yielding
to the strong, keeping a low profile, and by minding their own business. on the contrary, Taoism was the philosophy of those who
had understood the real nature of temporal power, wealth and status,
sufficiently well to find them radically wanting. Far from being a philosophy
of failure or quietude, Taoism offers profound and practical wisdom for those
who wish to develop the full harmony of their being. |
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www.toxicpop.co.uk . . . page last updated 19/04/2002