The Tao of Calvin Coolidge

30th President Calvin Coolidge (Notman Photo Co.)

President Calvin Coolidge adopted a laissez-faire attitude to governance when he took office after the death of President Warren G. Harding.

It is striking how harmonious his views flow with the ancient thought of Lao-Tzu, a thinker whose precepts nurtures libertarian and laissez-faire thought long before Western economists pondered the value of less government, smaller states, and individual responsibility.

Please enjoy the concord of President Coolidge's wit and wisdom with the paradoxical power of the Tao Te Ching.

“They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.” — Calvin Coolidge

"Make the earth a dwelling place.
Cultivate the heart and mind.
Practice benevolence.
Stand by your word.
Govern with equity
Serve skillfully.
Act in a timely way,
Without contentiousness,
Free of blame." — Tao Te Ching

“We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.” — Calvin Coolidge

"It’s best to be like water,
Nurturing the ten thousand things
Without competing,
Flowing into places people scorn,
Very like the Tao." — Tao Te Ching

" Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical form. " — Calvin Coolidge

"People are starving
Because those in high office
Keep raising taxes paid in grain.
So people go hungry." — Tao Te Ching

"Four-fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would only sit down and keep still." — Calvin Coolidge

"Thus the sage says,I practice doing nothing, And people transform themselves." — Tao Te Ching

"Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong." Calvin Coolidge

“Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” — Calvin Coolidge

"Therefore, the greater state lowers itself for the smaller.
Small states that are lower
Are governed by the great state." — Tao Te Ching

"No man ever listened himself out of a job." — Calvin Coolidge

"Therefore the sage knows himself
Without parading it,
Loves himself
Without treasuring himself." — Tao Te Ching

The Tao

“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”
― Calvin Coolidge

"When an administration is muddled and dull,
The people are sincere, honest.
When government pries, intrudes,
People are needy, contentious.
Misery and fortune share a trust.
Happiness hides in misery." -Tao Te Ching
"This country would not be a land of opportunity, America would not be America, if the people were shackled with government monopolies." — Calvin Coolidge

""You have to stand every day three or four hours of visitors. Nine-tenths of them want something they ought not to have. If you keep dead-still they will run down in three or four minutes. If you even cough or smile they will start up all over again." — Calvin Coolidge

"This is called advancing without marching.
Seize adversaries without arms or armor.
Catastrophe awaits one who underestimates an adversary.
Make light of an opponent
And lose a treasure." — Tao Te Ching

"The President gets the best advice he can find, uses the best judgment at his command, and leaves the event in the hands of Providence." — Calvin Coolidge

"It is a great advantage to a president, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man." — Calvin Coolidge

"Therefore the sage knows himself
Without parading it,
Loves himself
Without treasuring himself." — Tao Te Ching

“Our government rests upon religion. It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality, and for the rights of mankind. Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government. There are only two main theories of government in our world. One rests on righteousness and the other on force. One appeals to reason, and the other appeals to the sword. One is exemplified in the republic, the other is represented by despotism." — Calvin Coolidge

"Tao is the world’s secret storehouse,
Good people’s treasure
And a refuge for those who aren’t [good].

Therefore it is the world’s treasure." — Tao Te Ching

Lao Tze