Unknown Rulers

The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects ...

• http://www.chinapage.org/gnl.html#17

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So are the worst. Are they? I doubt it. -- OleAndersen

The best at what? Staying unknown? Holding on to power?

This ruler is best at being exactly 12 inches long.

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That text was written in a place where and time when things were highly conservative; probably the best thing a ruler could hope to do is preside over a peaceful, stable country.

The TaoTeChing was written down during the warring states period, a time of prolonged upheaval and change in China. There is a strong suggestion of filiation from the BhagavadGita, another classic derived from direct experience of revolution. The source translators used in the GNL all wrote during the last 150 years, also a time of sweeping change. Lastly the author of the GNL is known as a well travelled, troublesome, dangerously liberal, and, um, ooky, character from his writing on wiki. So which part of this origin characterizes a highly conservative place and time?

At other times people have had better paths open to them, and in those cases I think the best rulers would have acted, and the people would probably have noticed. Of course, in so far as most times you hear of someone doing something it is not just bad but also stupid, no news is still probably good news.

The point of the text is not inaction.

The point seems to be: That ThePeople? have and activate an idea because they think it is their own. This is because the environment and facilitation is such that this can occur. The environment and facilitation is provided by the ruler. This is somewhat related to leading by example.