The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- When laws become overly prominent, they generate more thieves and robbers.
- In plain terms
- Excessive rules breed more crime.
- What can you take from it?
- Simplify regulations to reduce incentive for wrongdoing.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What kinds of rules tend to backfire?
- How can societies balance order and freedom?
Another view
Not all strict laws lead to more crime; context matters.
More from Lao Tzu
He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.
Permalink to quote #15 The mark of a moderate man is freedom from his own ideas. Tolerant like the sky, all-pervading like sunlight, firm like a mountain, supple like a tree in the w…
Permalink to quote #17 'Block the passages, shut the doors, And till the end your strength shall not fail. Open up the passages, increase your doings, And till your last day no help …
Permalink to quote #14
Related quotes
There already are 20,000 federal gun laws and regulations on the books. If those laws haven't made America safe by now, why should we think 20,001 laws will su…
Harry BrowneHarry Browne quote #30 The problem of cat versus bird is as old as time. If we attempt to resolve it by legislation who knows but what we may be called upon to take sides as well in …
Adlai StevensonAdlai Stevenson quote #1 I will rule them by fixed laws so that rest and happiness shall prevail in the world.
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan quote #2