Finally, contemporary parallels appear in policies that curb conspicuous elite privilege, guarantee basic provision, and favor simple, default-oriented rules over constant micromanagement. Examples include modest public pay gaps, universal basic services, low-friction benefits, and procurement norms that avoid prestige signaling. Yet safeguards matter: Laozi’s quietism should not license anti-education or concealment. Read charitably, the target is inflamed craving and manipulative cleverness, not literacy or civic competence. When translated into modern terms, non-action means disciplined restraint: do less to excite envy, do more to meet needs, and resist performative policy churn. Under such conditions, ordinary life steadies, and governance, almost paradoxically, governs itself. [...]
