The action through inaction thing is not about having no preference between alternatives. It’s about choosing an alternative by settling yourself into a pattern where your preference is the unforced consequence.
Ron Paul (aside from his chances or the advisability of his politics) is a perfect demonstration of Wu Wei. “The highest type of ruler is one of whose existence the people are barely aware [...] The Sage is self-effacing and scanty of words. When his task is accomplished and things have been completed, All the people say, ‘We ourselves have achieved it!’”
Paul is able to lead and direct a spontaneous organization of thousands because of a history and a nature that he has expended much time cultivating. He has worked, but I suspect it wasn’t “effort”—because he was acting in accordance with his nature. He has made himself an exemplar of his philosophical theory, and so others are attracted and organize themselves around him. He doesn’t have to command from the center, because people already know what he would want—and they agree. So they just get to work.
(For those who think I’m over-praising RP, consider that I’d describe Osama Bin Laden in the same terms.)
The action through inaction thing is not about having no preference between alternatives. It’s about choosing an alternative by settling yourself into a pattern where your preference is the unforced consequence.
Ron Paul (aside from his chances or the advisability of his politics) is a perfect demonstration of Wu Wei. “The highest type of ruler is one of whose existence the people are barely aware [...] The Sage is self-effacing and scanty of words. When his task is accomplished and things have been completed, All the people say, ‘We ourselves have achieved it!’”
Paul is able to lead and direct a spontaneous organization of thousands because of a history and a nature that he has expended much time cultivating. He has worked, but I suspect it wasn’t “effort”—because he was acting in accordance with his nature. He has made himself an exemplar of his philosophical theory, and so others are attracted and organize themselves around him. He doesn’t have to command from the center, because people already know what he would want—and they agree. So they just get to work.
(For those who think I’m over-praising RP, consider that I’d describe Osama Bin Laden in the same terms.)