论道教的民本思想

出于对政治的兴衰治乱和国计民生的强烈关怀,道教在政治观念上倡导"以民为本",认为民众是君之为君、国之为国的基础,是物质生活资料的生产者,是统治者的衣食之源,因此,应以民众为政治生活之根本。民之本在食,因而民众的衣食之养在政治统治中具有基础性地位和作用。为了保障民众的衣食之本,道教提出尚农、尚俭、均食等一系列主张,特别要求统治者应当少私寡欲,反对对民众的横征暴敛和强取豪夺。

On Daoism's Idea of the People-oriented Thought

Out of the concern of the rise and decline of politics, Daoism advocates the idea of putting people＇ s benefits s first, thinking that people are the base to establish a country and to strengthen its rule. People are producers of material and the source of ruler＇ s food and dressing. The first concern for people is food and clothes. Therefore, it is very crucial to provide people with enough food and to dress them warmly, which should be effective political rule. In order to guarantee adequate food and clothes for people, Daoism brings forward to a series of policies, such as the advocating of agriculture, restraining from luxuries and evenly distributing of food and especially calls for rulers to reduce their desires and to be less selfish and furthermore, Daoism is strongly against ruler＇ s ruthlessly robbing people of money by levying heavy taxes.