Eric Bauer

“Where there are more restrictions and prohibitions, there is also more poverty. Where there are many sharp weapons, there is also more chaos. Where the people are full of clever schemes, there are also strange outcomes. Where there are many laws and edicts, there is also an abundance of criminals. Therefore, the wise person: Practices non-action so that the people are naturally transformed. Welcomes quietude so that the people will naturally be civilized. Does not interfere so that the people will naturally be prosperous.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“modern statecraft is largely a project of internal colonization, often glossed, as it is in imperial rhetoric, as a “civilizing mission.”
― James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed

“Only when the state is in disorder is there a need for patriotism.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

“Why do the people starve? It is because those at the top eat too much, and taxes are too high. This is why the people starve. Why are the people difficult to lead? It is because those in authority are meddlesome in their affairs. This is why the people are difficult to lead.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching