“A country may be governed with justice,

And a war may be won with cunning,

But people can only be mastered by following them.

How can this be known?

By looking!

The more people are controlled, the poorer they become;

The poorer they become, the more restless they get;

the more restless they get, the more forcefully they are restrained.

 When people are forcefully restrained, their defiance becomes ingenious.

And the more ingenious their defiance, the stranger are the things that happen.

 Now when strange things begin to happen, laws and regulations become stricter;

Then stricter laws and regulations mean more criminals and fugitives.

Soon everyone is either a criminal or a fugitive,

And no one can untangle the mess.

 Therefore,

The sage does nothing and people govern themselves,

Provokes no one and people are peaceful,

Does not interfere and people prosper,

Is without desire and people fulfill themselves.

The more people are controlled, the less contented they become.

But when will leaders understand the significance of this?”

– Lao Tzu, tr. Ray Grigg; stanza 57-58 (trad.), 20-21 (MaWangTui)