To affirm or imply that “more is less” has distinct Orwellian connotations. I wonder if anyone can seriously argue that more is less, or that less is more, in any area of life. Even pre-school children can figure out that more ice cream is preferable to less ice cream, and more cookies preferable to fewer cookies.
In philosophy, some modern gurus try to get away with anti-mathematical statements, but their arguments are normally met with intense scepticism. For the average person, it is obvious that more is more and less is less, and no amount of verbal mystification will make them think otherwise.
In the West, Taoism is sometimes presented as the doctrine that maintains that less is more. I can only assume that such a distorted characterization aims at making Taoists look foolish.
Did Lao-Tzu actually say that less is more? No, not in those exact terms, but he viewed the non-action principle as a crucial element of his philosophy. The non-action principle does not say that less is more, but that a narrow focus leads to far better results.
In terms of my prior example, Lao-Tzu did not say that less ice cream is better than more ice cream, but that we can make more ice cream with less effort if we stop doing other things at the same time.
Dead weight
When it comes to attaining happiness, the Taoist non-action principle plays a decisive role. It prompts us to define priorities clearly, drop secondary issues, and focus our efforts on the key steps.
Yang-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu used the non-action principle in many of their stories to illustrate the need of letting go of dead weight; they never said that less is more, but that we should let go of unpromising projects and do only what works.
In contrast to fallacious mathematical formulations that say that less is more, the non-action principle relies primarily on quality, not on quantity. Before discarding or adopting a policy, Taoists will carefully assess the consequences.
Taoists rarely make decisions by solely counting beans. It is more accurate to say that they will compare beans with lentils and chickpeas, and see which one tastes best and can be stored most easily.
Their intellectual process constitutes the opposite of an anti-mathematical statement. Ancient Chinese Taoists would have been puzzled to hear someone claim that less is more, and in our times, Taoists won’t even bother to comment if confronted with such a statement.
To complicate things further, the Taoist non-action principle does not only entail a total and permanent standstill. There are situations that call for doing nothing, but on other occasions, a wait-and-see response may prove more effective.
A safety mechanism
The purpose of non-action is to avoid automatic responses that may prove counterproductive or cause irreversible harm. It is a safety mechanism to protect ourselves against ignorance, prejudice and social pressure.
Lao-Tzu had observed that wait-and-see often proves to be the best policy in confusing situations. We shouldn’t discharge our weapons blindly, accuse people without evidence, or make unwarranted assumptions.
Imprudent engagements, rash actions, and reckless reactions tend to lead to disaster. The non-action principle advises us to slow down when things are unclear.
Resolute behaviour looks great in movies, but in real life, it is hard to tell resoluteness and recklessness apart. The line that separates them is thin and discontinuous. Thus, I wouldn’t want to bet my future on my ability to discern that line in the dark.
Chuang-Tzu wrote a short story about a man who endured a series of setbacks, which at first sight, had caused him severe damage. Luckily, the man possessed a tempered character and refused to fall prey to panic.
Instead of reacting automatically to adversity, he took a step back and reviewed the situation. His calm demeanour enabled him to ignore the commiserations from his neighbours, friends, and family members. If he had listened to them, he would have felt overwhelmed.
At the end of Chuang-Tzu’s story, the alleged victim ends up a winner because some of his problems solve themselves, or prove to be less serious than initially thought. His wait-and-see attitude turns out to be enormously effective.
How does the non-action principle contribute to happiness? By preventing mistakes and reducing waste; and by helping us adopt a simple lifestyle, as recommended by Chapter 19 of the Tao Te Ching.
Similarly, the non-action principle helps us reduce friction, abruptness and conflict in human relations. It enables us to live in harmony with neighbours, colleagues and customers by first listening to them and thinking for a moment before reacting.
The Taoist approach to happiness entails as much doing as not doing. Modern culture tends to overemphasize the former and underestimate the latter. It overvalues speed at the expense of thoughtfulness, and in doing so, creates lots of unnecessary anxiety.
If you are interested in putting effective insights into daily practice, I recommend my book titled “Rational living, rational working.”