Our Government, The Way it should be or the way it has to be?.
Machiavelli is more suitable to be elected as a President in the U.S. than Lao Tzu. To begin with, Lao Tzu's philosophy on how the government system should work is old and abandoned; on the other hand, Machiavelli's philosophy is modern and practiced. Furthermore, Machiavelli supports his philosophy through history and logic; while, Lao Tzu explains his theory through moral implications and selfless virtues.
Lao Tzu's ideal government is vulnerable in war. In his government, Lao Tzu simply doesn't believe in armed forces. Training and arming soldiers is considered a bad thing in Lao Tzu's philosophy, for "Weapons are the tools of violence; all decent men detest them. Weapons are the tools of fear; a decent man will avoid them except in the direst necessity and, if compelled, will use them only with the utmost restraint" (Jacobus 25). So if war is inevitable, then they would make every effort to win the war. If, after they win the war, the people shall not celebrate the triumph and victory, instead, they should feel sorrow for the many suffered casualties in both countries. Idealistically, this is a very moral belief and that's how a government should be; however, in a realistic point of view, an army holding this belief will definitely lose the battle. For it eliminates the motivation to kill and drive for victory in the army. Although motivation and drive does not assure victory, it is a necessity in war. A country that lacks armed forces and a well-trained army are dangerously tempting neighboring countries to invade them. The second worst thing about Lao Tzu is his inability to defend our country.
Lao Tzu will not prevent any future terrorist or foreign country attacks. He will follow his Tao teaching by letting nature flow its course, for "The Master sees things as they are, without trying to control them. She lets them go their own way, and resides at the center of the circle" (24).
