Portrait of Laozi
Left · Thinker or writer · From history

Laozi

Chinese sage, c. 6th century BCE

Traditionally credited with the Tao Te Ching, which counsels rulers to govern lightly, avoid force and let events take their natural course.

Laozi sits in the left-libertarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: slightly state-led and strongly libertarian. The clearest positions are strongly non-interventionist on interventionism, strongly libertarian on liberty and authority and strongly nature-first on environment.

Read more about Laozi on Wikipedia →

Where Laozi sits on ten dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this person's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomySlightly state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly libertarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureSlightly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationLeaning globalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentStrongly nature-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyStrongly tech-cautious
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly peace-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsLeaning anti-establishment
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionSlightly religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismStrongly non-interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

People most like Laozi

Henry David Thoreau American essayist and naturalist, 1817 to 186297%Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist and moral thinker, 1828 to 191097%Ivan Illich Austrian philosopher and priest, 1926 to 200297%Jacques Ellul French sociologist and Christian anarchist, 1912 to 199494%Thích Nhất Hạnh Vietnamese Zen master and peace activist, 1926 to 202294%Mahatma Gandhi Leader of the Indian independence movement93%Jane Jacobs American-Canadian urbanist, 1916 to 200693%E. F. Schumacher German-British economist, 1911 to 197792%

People furthest from Laozi

Joseph Stalin Soviet leader, 1920s to 19531%Benito Mussolini Prime Minister of Italy, 1922 to 19432%Adolf Hitler Chancellor and Führer of Germany, 1933 to 19452%Louis XIV King of France, 1643 to 17152%

Political views closest to Laozi

PacifismRejects war as a political tool and favors nonviolent resistance and disarmament.95%Anarcho-primitivismRejects civilization, agriculture and industry and favors a return to hunter-gatherer…93%Deep ecologyGives nature value in itself and calls for a radical reduction of human impact.93%Neo-LuddismResists industrial and digital technology that is seen to erode community, work and…89%

Read more about Laozi

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Biographies of LaoziBooks on pacifism

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Percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions. Including a person here is for study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: White whirlwind, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.