The Tao does not disturb the people

Govern a country with honesty and order. Fight a war with surprise and strategy. Win the world by not stirring up trouble. How do I know this is so? By this: The more prohibitions and taboos there are in the world, the poorer the people become. The more clever schemes and weapons the people have, the more chaotic the country becomes. The more clever skills and tricks people develop, the more strange and unnatural things appear. The harsher and more detailed the laws and decrees, the more thieves and robbers there are. So the sage says: “I take no forced action, and the people transform themselves. I love quietness, and the people become upright themselves. I do not meddle, and the people become prosperous themselves. I am free of desire, and the people become simple and honest themselves.”