Vanitas & The Daodejing
Beautiful ideas are powerful. In book IV of the Republic, Plato writes in the voice of Socrates “If anyone attacks the land in which they live, they must plan on its behalf and defend it as their mother and nurse and think of the other citizens as their earthborn brothers”. On its own, this text reads as a description of the deep connection between people and mother earth. In the context of the dialogue however, this pleasant and enticing text is positioned as a falsehood; an idea used as a political tool intended to deceive the auxiliaries and people of a just city into behaving the way they are meant to. The controversial nature of this falsehood is even highlighted in the hesitance of Socrates in expressing it in conversation. Here is a beautiful, poetic and pleasant idea used politically to bait and control the consciousness of its audience. Although in the text explicitly titles the idea a falsehood, it still invites shock and discomfort at the corruption of a beautiful notion of the earth as mother and people as brethren for the sake of control and power over society. Politics once again ruins the beauty of what might have been.
The sun was peeking through the clouds on a Tuesday afternoon as I sat in a Foundations of Chinese Thought class as an undergraduate student. The sight was beautiful, but deceiving, as the dark clouds meant heavy rain. Beautiful ideas are the most powerful of weapons when it comes to controlling society. In this class I had a moment of absolute shock, discomfort and fear at the realization that the beautiful and poetic idea of Taoist ‘Wuwei’ might in reality be a tool for political control. Initially I was questioning why out of all the texts that could have survived history, it was the Daodejing that transcended time and space, remaining on public school syllabi to this day. Pondering “who benefits from this stillness” encouraged by the idea of Wuwei sparked the grand conspiracy and shock that ensued in my thoughts. While at first glance the idea of Wuwei, or non-action poetically promotes stillness and inner peace, it doubles as a falsehood leading the masses away from political uprising and into conformity with the systems in power. My emotional reaction was at the idea of being deceived - regardless of the intention of the author.
Beautiful ideas are a simple way to draw in political prey. The poetic idea explicitly presented as a falsehood in Book IV of the Republic by Plato and the idea of Wuwei found in the Daodejing both promote utopian societal values that influence the conformity of their audiences. While each concept is situated differently in presentation and background, both appear as beautiful ideas that excite the heart and present the political opportunity control the minds of the masses. Plato’s idea of all people being born of the earth and having a duty to protect it as their mother and each other as brethren is presented as an explicit falsehood, and Wuwei is simply presented as a way of life. Both notions inspire poetically pleasant and utopian initial responses with room for shock upon realization at the subcurrent of deceitful political intent by the institutions that promote them.
Such a harsh analysis of the idea of Wuwei may be frowned upon by those who see it not as a falsehood meant to deceive, but instead a tool for the survival of people facing precarious situations. It may even be argued that Wuwei and the proposed falsehood in Book IV of the Republic are incomparable because Plato’s is explicitly labelled a falsehood within the text while Wuwei is presented as a “classic of the way and virtue” by an old master (Laozi).
Despite the difference in era, positionality and context, the poetic beauty and promotion of conformity in common between the falsehood in the Republic and the idea of Wuwei cannot be denied. Nor can one deny the soul wrenching gut reaction at the realization of the deceitful nature of these beautiful ideas regardless of the author's intention. At first impression, I found myself drawn into the blissful utopian possibilities described as Wuwei and the Falsehood in Book IV of the Republic. While the first took critical analysis to reveal it’s potential for political influence and the latter was forthcoming in it’s falsehood, both serve as tools for political control regardless of the intention of the author. The trouble with the power of these beautiful ideas is that they can be misused when that beauty and power is taken advantage of.