Episode 25: Daoist Utopia

In this episode, we delve into Chapter 80 of the Daodejing, one of the most vivid portraits of Daoist social ideals. We unpack its vision of a “simple agrarian utopia,” where people live in small communities, ignore labor-saving tools, and resist the endless chase for more. Along the way, we discuss political minimalism, technological restraint, contentment in daily life, and radical localism, asking what it would mean to be satisfied even while knowing other or "better" possibilities exist. We reflect on our own consumerist culture, and probe whether Daoist utopia is naive, radical, or unexpectedly wise for our time.

Many thanks to The Hong Kong Ethics Lab for sponsoring this podcast series.

Want to continue the discussion? Need links to some of the sources mentioned? Go to the support page for this episode on Warp, Weft, and Way.

We thank Lena Li (LI La 李拉 ) for her expert editing and sound engineering. We also thank the blog Warp, Weft & Way for hosting the discussion for this episode.

Want to skip to the philosophical content?

13:15  Preview of today's passage: chapter 80 of the Daodejing
18:03 Part II -- Daoist utopia

Co-hosts:
Richard Kim's website
Justin Tiwald's website

Chapters

• 0:00 Part I -- Introduction
• 1:25 • Worries about technological innovation: writing, smart phones, AI
• 13:15 • Preview of today's passage: chapter 80 of the Daodejing
• 18:03 Part II -- Daoist utopia
• 21:59 • Complete reading of chapter 80
• 23:22 • Section 1, "Political Minimalism"
• 29:53 • Section 2, "Technological and Social Restraint"
• 32:30 • Why shouldn't we use labor-saving tools?
• 46:17 • Section 3, "Contentment and Simplicity in Daily Life"
• 52:05 • Section 4, "Radical Localism and Peace"
• 58:15 • Two types of contentment: naive vs. deep
• 1:04:42 • The qualified value of Daoist utopianism