Similarities Between Lao Tzu And Confucianism

Lao Tzu’s political views are based on Taoism, which means that things should be done in conformity with nature. He is against aggression and coercion and recommends the adoption of inaction by both the government and its subjects (Csikszentmihalyi 58). Confucius, on the other hand, is of the proposition that democracy should be a great aspect that ought to be embraced by all members of the society either as leaders or subjects (Walton 100-101). The two scholars differ in various respects, but still concur with each other on certain occasions. All this is discussed vastly in the paper below. Lao advocates for maintenance of ethics by various members of the society so as to make it a better and cohabitable place to live in. He does this by putting forward the theory of Taoism (Tang 231). In this, he proposes that quietism and moderation are important values that should be adopted. Taoism means that man should act in orthodoxy with nature. He further counsels human beings to follow the course aligned by nature and compares it to the same way that water flows down a stream. Additionally, he believes that man should always ensure that all his actions offer little or no resistance to nature. He bases this notion on the advantages it accords man in the long run. He says that
Lao’s idea lays emphasis on the embrace of societal values that have been in practice for the past years. It insists on modesty, moderation and cooperation to what is accepted and is depicted by nature (Csikszentmihalyi 58). Confucius however insists on the proposition that nurture changes how man should hold political views and how to go about politics. He insists that the grounds for good citizenship should be radicalism and liberalism. This means that anything that compromises the citizens’ views and ideas should be countered with the utmost resistance so as to remedy the situation (Tian