# Questioning clever governance: summary

Contains an ancient distrust of clever governance, including ideas of keeping people ignorant, and advocates plain governance.

https://sakimyto.com/en/classics/laozi/chapter-65-questioning-clever-governance

## Source and summary

[Laozi · Dao De Jing · Questioning clever governance](https://zh.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E9%81%93%E5%BE%B7%E7%B6%93%20%28%E7%8E%8B%E5%BC%BC%E6%9C%AC%29&oldid=2354026#%E5%85%AD%E5%8D%81%E4%BA%94%E7%AB%A0)

> 古之善為道者，非以明民，將以愚之。

Contains an ancient distrust of clever governance, including ideas of keeping people ignorant, and advocates plain governance.

## Editorial interpretation

The example below adapts this chapter’s questions to modern work. Evaluate it against the actual purpose and conditions; ancient politics, warfare or ethics do not establish business results.

## Business application

Do not use this chapter to justify withholding information; use it to question overly complex systems and make procedures transparent.

1. Choose one relevant case and record its objective, available resources, verified facts and unknowns.
2. Compare options using this chapter’s perspective; choose a limited trial, owner, deadline and a measure to assess the result.

Deliverable: A comparison using questioning clever governance, with conditions for acting or declining.

## Limits

The summary selects main points rather than translating every sentence. The example is not a demonstrated business method; check it against stakeholders’ conditions and actual evidence.

## Validation question

How does this chapter’s perspective change the selected option or priority, and what further evidence could change the decision?

[Laozi: a guide to the Dao De Jing](https://sakimyto.com/en/classics/laozi)

[This material](https://sakimyto.com/classics-data/entries/laozi/chapter-65-questioning-clever-governance.en.md)

Updated: 2026-10-13 · v1.0.0