The Ideal State of Today Essay -- Philosophy, Lao-Tzu

The search for the ideal state has been an on going mission for leaders since the creation of the first government. For a state to be truly ideal, its administration and chief must have the right characteristics. A government is a system that governs a state. A leader is someone who operates the administration. Although this seems simple, historical and current chiefs and regimes have proven it is not. The teachings of men such as Lao-Tzu and Niccolo Machiavelli include specific details on the traits a leader must posses in order to run and maintain a government where he or she is happy as well as the citizens. However, several of the traits classified as necessary for both a leader and government, by Lao and Machiavelli are undesirable in the path to the ideal state. In his work, â€Å"Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching,† Lao-Tzu discusses the Tao. Lao believes the Tao or â€Å"the way† to be the most effective method into developing a leader fit to manage a government in which everyone is content and is at peace. According to Lao, â€Å"the Master doesn’t talk, he acts. When his work is done, the people say, Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!† (25). Therefore, the chief, in order to run the administration, he must govern the people in ways that they are barely aware of his presence and ruling. The people, when they forget their superior, â€Å"goodness and piety appear† (25). Subjects living under such a government, turn to a higher supreme power, which they believe is responsible for their accomplishments, which creates religious devotion. Niccolo Machiavelli, in â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince,† discusses whether a prince should keep his word to his people. Machiavelli said, â€Å"the princes who have accomplished great deeds are those who have cared ... ...ch speculators prosper while farmers lose their land, government officials spend money on weapons instead of cures, when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible while the poor have nowhere to turn-all this is robbery and chaos† (Lao-Tzu 29). In addition, this is complete capitalism and, therefore, the government will not succeed. One country that has united the two types of administrations is China, which is the world’s second-largest economy and has become known as the â€Å"world’s factory† (Bin 2). According to Prof Alok Bhargava in â€Å"Persuade Beijing of need for democracy,† â€Å"China is now more capitalist than communist. The Chinese economic policies have lowered production costs and brought prosperity† (16). China’s use of dual administrations demonstrates the positive outcomes of doing so, even though; China considers itself completely a communist country.