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De
(virtue or power) in the Tao Te Ching refers not to moral virtue in the Western sense but to the natural potency a person possesses when fully aligned with the Tao; de is the Way expressed through the character and conduct of those who live in harmony with it.
Ruling by not-ruling
The Tao Te Ching's principle of ruling by not-ruling holds that the best ruler governs so lightly that the people barely know he exists, creating conditions for natural order to emerge without imposing laws, punishments, or bureaucratic control.
Soft despotism
Soft despotism, a concept articulated by Tocqueville and echoed in Taylor's work, describes a form of government that, while not overtly tyrannical, infantilises citizens by managing every detail of their lives. Lao Tzu's critique of interventionist governance anticipates this concern by arguing that excessive government control produces dependence rather than flourishing.
Wu wei
(literally ‘non-action’) the central ethical concept of the Tao Te Ching, referring not to passivity but to a mode of acting that is effortless, spontaneous, and aligned with the natural flow of the Tao, achieving results without force or the imposition of artificial will. Ziran (literally ‘self-so’ or ‘naturalness’) is the quality of spontaneous self-becoming that characterises both the Tao and the person who practises wu wei, acting from authentic nature rather than from social convention or calculated self-interest.