George W. Bush, Taoist Sage

Warning: an attempt at humor follows:

Here’s a political insight that most Americans have probably not realized: George W. Bush comes very close to the ideal leader described by the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism. And, in true Taoist fashion, when we consider Bush in this light we can see that his apparent weaknesses are really strengths, and his strengths weaknesses.

Taoism is a naturalistic philosophy that finds virtue in each thing unto itself and all things existing together. The complex totality of Nature – or, “Way”, in Taoist terminology – has a certain organic integrity. Way is alive and complete, without need of human interference. Thus, one of key principles of Taoism is “do nothing,” for it is futile to meddle in the inevitable unfolding of worldly events: nature and history, humanity included, will move forward regardless of our intentions and efforts.

Now, it is easy to point out that the “do nothing” dictum seems to capture Bush’s Alabama national guard stint as well as his collegiate career, but his conformity with Taoist ideals actually runs much deeper.

Taoism embraces a small government ideology similar to mainstream American conservative thought. Both philosophies maintain an optimistic view of society and its capacities for self-regulation. If individuals cultivate the proper world-view, Taoism holds, then they will be content in their stations and will not need assistance from an overbearing government. Of course, some Taoist principles, such as its disdain of the profit motive, are at odds with contemporary conservativism, but it is easy to imagine a latter-day Taoist legislator joining in many a congressional vote with small government Republican colleagues.

One issue that would produce such a strange-bedfellows alliance is tax policy. Taoists do not like high taxes, as this line from the foundational text, the Tao Te Ching, makes clear:

The people are starving,
And it’s only because you leaders feast on taxes
That they’re starving. (75).

Bureaucrats literally gobbling up the people’s livelihood: an image right out of Bush’s tax cut campaign. On this score, the President could count on the Taoist vote, if there was one to be had.

Even more important than policy affinities, however, Taoism would find virtue in Bush’s personality. Since, for Taoists, it is useless to try to guide the course of nature, then theoretical and scientific knowledge is, by and large, unnecessary. All that the wise leader needs to know is his immediate experience and his heart. Indeed, classical Taoist texts go even further, championing ignorance. In this passage from the Tao Te Ching a sage refers to himself:

People all have enough and more. But I’m abandoned and destitute, An absolute simpleton, this mind of mine so utterly Muddled and blank(20)

For those who would question Bush’s intelligence, this should give pause. Perhaps his discomfort with big ideas and grand pronouncements is a sign of his embrace of Way.

Taoists also spurn eloquence. If we do not need abstract knowledge to explain nature, then we do not need fancy words to express our understanding. The Tao Te Ching is straightforward on this point:

Sincere words are never beautiful.  And beautiful words never sincere. The noble are never eloquent, and the eloquent never noble.(81)

Those who know don’t talk, and those who talk don’t know (56)

What could be more Bushian? For a Taoist, the very thing that so many pundits point to as his key weakness, his ineptness with the language, is precisely the mark of Bush’s deeper wisdom.

And so we have it: George W. Bush, Taoist Sage.

His Taoist credentials are not perfect, however. The ancient philosophy is famously pacifist. Preventive warfare is not at all in keeping with its main tenets, as suggested by this Tao Te Ching passage:

Weapons are tools of misfortune, Not tools of the noble-minded. (31)

Bush’s resolute move toward war, which boosted his standings in the polls for a time, was contrary to Way.

Yet even if Bush’s Taoist tendencies founder on the question of war, the more general correspondence remains. He may not be a perfect Taoist but, then again, now that the budget deficit is soaring, there are plenty of people on the right who complain that he is far from a perfect conservative as well.

Comments

[Jon Chow]

I've sometimes wondered whether a Taoist sage would be able to fit into a modern political context considering that so much of our global society is organized around precisely what Lao Tzu rails against in the Tao Te Ching. Have we gotten to the point where it is impossible to turn back to the Way without prompting massive chaos? In other words, would an attempted correction in the direction of the Way result in further deviations from the Way? I'm thinking here of globalization, the Internet, international trade, social welfare services, forward-deployed military forces, and all the kinds of interventive policies and interconnections that define our world.

This leads to another question: suppose that one country were to embrace the Way. What is to prevent other countries from taking advantage of it, plundering its natural resources, threatening its security, etc.? Maybe I'm misunderstanding what it means for a state to embrace the Way, but is Lao Tzu simply a utopian at this point in history or do you think that his philosophy can still be applied to international politics?

[Sam]

I suspect your are right: a state could not really "embrace Way." Perhaps only a person can do so, and, even then, only in certain facets of his or her life.

[Carter]

"Taoism embraces a small government ideology similar to mainstream American conservative thought."

But Bush isn't mainstream conservative, he's a neoconservative. He has done nothing to reduce the role of government. Instead, he has systematically increased the role of the national government over smaller state and local governments. He has shifted non-terrorist crime fighting to the federal level through expanding the FBI's role, imposing minimum sentencing laws, blacklisting judges for not conforming to federal standards, etc. He has allowed a huge increase in pork barrel spending to give federal funding to local projects, and he has expanded domestic spying. As you say, he has war mongered and authorized torture. How is this taoist again?